Archive for NC-10 Congressional race
Results
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Yes the NC Constitutional Amendment passed 61-39, but here in Buncombe it failed. There were a lot of interesting results here at home last night, most of which bode very well for Buncombe. Let’s get the results train rolling. (Buncombe results) (NC results)
On the 10th Congressional tip, Patsy Keever steamrolled Terry Bellamy 58-26, with also-ran Tim Murphy limping in with 15%. Keever’s excellent organization outpaced the other campaigns. People love them some Patsy Keever, there’s no getting around it. Whether she can translate that into victory against a seemingly bulletproof Patrick McHenry will depend on her campaign’s ability to activate voters who haven’t come out the last several cycles.
In the 11th, Hayden Rogers romped over his competition. With 56% of the vote, he beat Cecil Bothwell by 26, and Tom Hill pulled only 14%. Cecil was a liberal candidate in a conservative district, but it’s worth noting that he won the part of the district that’s in Buncombe County by 161 votes. Rogers now has to pivot to the general election in a district that has a very high number of registered Republicans. The contrast between the 10th and the 11th couldn’t be more stark in terms of who Democratic voters chose to be their standard bearer.
In Buncombe County Commissioner races, we saw a very high Democratic turnout. If the ratio of Democratic to Republican voters is similar in November, then look for a savory County Board majority to come into office.
The Day Before The Day
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What’s the CW on who’s going to win all these races? Have you already voted? What do you think the GOP Presidential primary vote will look like? I’m guessing Romney doesn’t break 58% and that Ron Paul has his best southern state showing.
This would also be a great place to let everyone know where the election night parties and gatherings are.
With 37 different ballot styles in Buncombe County (Thanks a lot, Tim Moffitt), the Board of Elections may take a little more time than usual to release results tomorrow, but you can watch for results at this link right here.
Let’s Just Say It
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I recommend reading this entire article, though you’ll run the risk of having some area Republicans and equivalency fetishists gnash their teeth when you share it with them.
Thomas E. Mann is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Norman J. Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. This essay is adapted from their book “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism,” which will be available Tuesday.
We have been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years, and never have we seen them this dysfunctional. In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party.
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
When one party moves this far from the mainstream, it makes it nearly impossible for the political system to deal constructively with the country’s challenges.
“Both sides do it” or “There is plenty of blame to go around” are the traditional refuges for an American news media intent on proving its lack of bias, while political scientists prefer generality and neutrality when discussing partisan polarization. Many self-styled bipartisan groups, in their search for common ground, propose solutions that move both sides to the center, a strategy that is simply untenable when one side is so far out of reach.
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Lindsey’s Extra Awesome Voter Guide
Posted by: | CommentsLindsey Simerly sent this into my email inbox, and I thought I’d share it here. Lindsey has been involved in lots of Democratic campaigns (Jones, Smith, Newman, Reisinger, Shuler) and is currently working with the Campaign for Southern Equality as well as being Chair of the City of Asheville’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. She also ran for City Council in 2007, which is when I became enamored with her work ethic, intelligence, and boundless energy.
After the jump you’ll find her extra-awesome voter guide.
UPDATE/CLARIFICATION: “extra-awesome voter guide” is Lindsey’s title for this guide and post. Some folks made the assumption that Lindsey’s choices are also my endorsements. Hope this clears that up.
Voting Begins Tomorrow
Posted by: | CommentsTime to get your votin’ hat on. Voting prior to May 8th means that you can tell those callers, door knockers, and poliscolds, “I already voted.”
NC-10 Primary Open Thread
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As a result of the efforts of the GOP majority in Raleigh, I’m a newly minted resident of the 10th Congressional District, as are most Buncombe County citizens. Congressman Patrick McHenry has been serving for several terms after a successful stint as National Coalition Director for George W. Bush’s 2000 Presidential campaign. He’s got a Republican challenger in the primary named Ken Fortenberry. Be careful if you click that last link, it brings up his website with a mini-Ken that starts talking at you.
From an Asheville government perspective, we’re very hopeful that Rep. McHenry will be as supportive as Rep. Shuler has been in regards to securing transit funding resources as well as communicating with us about other opportunities for furthering our strategic goals.
There are three Democrats vying for the chance to unseat Rep. McHenry. Patsy Keever is a progressive standard-bearer with impeccable credentials and ethics, though it’s unclear how well her views will play with folks down the mountain. Her 2004 Congressional run against Charles Taylor was competently executed, so it’s clear she’s got the organizational chops. Keever is the strongest voice in the race for education and women’s rights, including the right to choose.
Mayor of Asheville Terry Bellamy is also running, and word is that she’s got the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which will help her organizationally and financially. Keever and Bellamy raised roughly the same amount of money according to the most recent documents. Bellamy has demonstrated a conservative streak that she’s balanced through advocacy for affordable housing and transit services.
The other Dem in the race is Timothy Murphy, who describes himself as proud liberal. I don’t know anything about him except what I see on his campaign website.
What’s the CW on this race? Keever and Bellamy will each get a lot of Asheville votes, but who has the edge in the rest of the district? Will the Democratic nominee’s stance on abortion rights be an important issue in the general election? Is McHenry beatable? Please opine at length in the comments.
Your county commission candidates
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Now that the roster of candidates has been finalized (the filing deadline was noon on Wednesday), I’ll be offering up some preliminary political analysis of this cycle’s races in two separate posts. The first (this one) will discuss the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and Register of Deeds races; the second, which I hope to post over the weekend, will discuss races for the NC House, NC Senate, and U.S. Congress in Districts 10 and 11.
I’ve always believed that there’s an inversely proportional relationship between the amount of attention a race gets during an election cycle and its actual effect on our daily lives. Local races — City Council and County Commission, for instance — typically get lost in the shuffle during a presidential/gubernatorial year as they compete for the attention of the voters. Turnout and participation drop off because many people don’t see the importance of these “down ticket” races — but really, no offices could be more important. Our local elected officials have a much larger effect on our daily lives than do our Members of Congress, our U.S. Senators, or even than does the President of the United States. That’s how our uniquely American system of government is set up: everything from Education to Public Safety, from Trash Collection to Taxes, from Human Services to the Sale of Property, is for the most part a local matter — and it’s all pretty much in our hands every four years. And for a history and politics geek like me, there is no greater thrill. And that’s why I’m starting with this year’s county commission races.
Hurry! Ends Soon!
Posted by: | CommentsJust in case you are sitting on the fence, thinking about throwing your hat into the ring for a position in our local government, you had best make up your mind soon. The filing period ends tomorrow, the 29th at noon.
You can see who has filed for what by going to the Buncombe County site and downloading a PDF file.
Meanwhile, if you want to see a more thorough statewide picture of who is and is not running, you can get a different PDF file from NC Policy Watch here, along with a nice story about some Democratic candidates who have chosen to avoid the head to head confrontations that the Republican redistricting created.
So how many of you out there have actually considered running for elected office? I can think of a couple of regulars here I’d like to see doing it, and to tell you the truth I’ve seriously considered it myself. How about you?
Patsy Keever vs. Terry Bellamy?
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Patsy Keever’s Facebook page:
Yes, I am still planning to run for Congress in the 10th District against Patrick McHenry if the redistricting maps hold and I am drawn out of my NC House district. Since Terry Bellamy announced, I’ve had so many questions from people who knew I was planning to run that I figured I better let everyone know. Her announcement doesn’t change my plans.
Terry Bellamy V. Patrick McHenry
Posted by: | CommentsAC-T:
Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy announced today that she is running for Congress in the 10th Congressional District. Bellamy has served as mayor of Asheville since 2005, and is running for Congress on her record of creating jobs, finding pragmatic solutions that increase access to affordable housing and reducing violence.
