Saturday, March 09, 2019

Candidate Filing Has Closed for the NC-3 Special Election


Some 17 Republicans (gasp!), six Democrats, two Libertarians, and one member of the Constitution Party have filed for the Congressional seat that was left vacant by the death of Rep. Walter B. Jones.

Richard Bew
A run-off primary in July seems almost inevitable, especially on the Republican side. On the Democratic side, we've already paid attention to Richard Bew, who might be the frontrunner, and to a couple of his opponents for the Democratic nomination, Ike Johnson and Dana Outlaw. Here is what I can find out about the other two:

Earnest T. Reeves -- Reeves is a familiar figure in eastern North Carolina. He ran in the Democratic primary for US Senate in 2014 and lost to Kay Hagan. In November 2015 he ran for mayor of Greenville, but was defeated by incumbent Mayor Allen Thomas (about which, see below). Reeves then ran in the Democratic primary for US Senate in March 2016 and lost to Deborah Ross. He also ran in the general election in June 2016 for the 3rd Congressional District seat against incumbent Republican Walter Jones, and lost. In April 2017 he was one of two finalists to replace David Hammond on the Pitt County Board of Commissioners but lost to Ann Huggins. In November 2017 he ran again for mayor of Greenville, but was defeated by city council member P.J. Connelly. He ran in the Democratic primary in 2018 for the NC House, got only 799 votes, and lost to Kandie Smith who went on to win the seat last November. He's a retired United States Army Communications Officer. According to his website, Reeves is "a disabled and combat zone veteran who currently serves as an entrepreneur, mentor, advisor, counselor, and advocate for the elderly and people in need on a case-by-case basis."

Allen Thomas -- Thomas was elected mayor in Greenville for three terms before resigning during his third term in June of 2017 to become executive director of the Global Transpark in Kinston (which should mean he has a leg up for fundraising). He got some star treatment when he announced on Thursday and would appear to be Richard Bew's chief competitor for the nomination. He's polished.





Full disclosure: I'm a contributor to the Richard Bew campaign.

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