New Leadership for the NC GOP

Meet Hasan Harnett, the insurgent Tea Partier elected yesterday as chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. Hasan beat lawyer Craig Collins, who had been anointed as the "chosen one" by the entire state Republican Party leadership, including Gov. McCrory, Sen. Thom Tillis, Senate President Phil Berger, and NC House Speaker Tim Moore.

Nope, said 700 delegates at the state GOP convention, decisively beating the 562 delegates who followed the establishment in voting for Collins. Make no mistake: this was a palace coup, and a fairly bloody one, according to Tea Party commentator Brant Clifton. And, also according to Clifton, moves are already underway to undermine and neuter Mr. Harnett by the GOP establishment.

The N&O describes Harnett as "a businessman and author from Concord." He previously served as campaign manager for GOP congressional candidate Vince Coakley, who lost his race for Congress against Alma Adams last year.

As Mr. Clifton has noted, this upset election of a far-right political novice to lead the NC GOP is a major set-back for Gov. McCrory, who is busily trying to reclaim the middle ground in the state, and it's a major set-back for the handful of political allies McCrory may have in the General Assembly, who may also be tacking back to the center.

Harnett and his Tea Party choir may make it much harder to tack back center-ward.