Maybe Not Illegal But Certainly Corrupt

 

Two investigative reporters for Carolina Public Press, Mehr Sher and Grace Vitaglione, published a shocking/not at all surprising piece last Tuesday which found that "Campaign committees of at least eight lawmakers received a total of $34,400 from at least four donors linked to The Cordish Cos. from November 2022 to March 2023."

So what? The what is that The Cordish Cos. runs gambling casinos and is pushing for three new casinos for Rockingham, Anson, and Nash counties. You won't be surprised that the Republicans in the General Assembly, at least eight of them greased with campaign cash, are falling all over themselves to deliver. There's actually a "draft bill" making the rounds.

Who got the money?

Phil Berger

Phil Berger, President Pro Tem of the NC Senate who represents Rockingham (yeah, baby!), got $5,600, which was the max allowed at the time of the gift, Nov. 2022

Sen. Lisa Barnes, who represents Nash Co., also got $5,600

Rep. John Bell in the House, who's also Majority Leader, got $5,600

Rep. Jason Saine, who's also senior chair of the Appropriations Committee, got $5,600

Sen. David Craven, who represents part of Anson, got $2,500

Rep. Kyle Hall, another chair of an Appropriations subcommittee, got $2,500

Rep. Larry Strickland, another chair of an Appropriations subcommittee, got $2,500

Sen. Todd Johnson, a chair for a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, got $2,500

A single Democrat, Rep. Kathy Manning, shows up in the list: "Jon Cordish gave $2,000 to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Political Action Committee and earmarked the funds for U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, D-6th District. Earmarking funds allows the PAC to act as a conduit for the donation." Manning's 6th Dist. includes Rockingham.

With watchdogs beginning to bark -- notably Bob Hall, the former executive director of Democracy NC, -- the legislators and others are talking up the economic benefits of gambling casinos to Rockingham, Anson, and Nash counties, some of the poorest in the state. But there are verifiable statistics and studies that show that the coming of legal gambling to an economically distressed area further impoverishes local residents, who are more likely to take up habitual gambling when it's that accessible. And didn't anyone watch Ozark?

“It’s a pay-to-play scheme, and the system itself is corrupt,” said Hall. “They put a lot of money behind their requests to get attention and overcome the hesitation of legislators,” he said, referring to businesses and companies who make campaign contributions. “That corrupting dynamic leads the leadership into compromising and bringing proposals to the members of their caucus.”

Do you need that explanation to know this stinks?

Winners in all NC Senate Primaries Yesterday

Back in December we listed all the NC Senate primaries in both Democratic and Republican parties on March 3. That posting is reproduced below with the winners yesterday noted in red.

Dist. 6, Jones and Onslow -- Incumbent Republican Senator Harry Brown is retiring, and two Republicans want the seat: Bob Williams and Michael Lazzara. Winner will face Democrat Ike Johnson in November. Rated "Likely Republican." Lazzara won.

*Dist. 7, Lenoir and Wayne -- Incumbent Republican Louis Pate resigned earlier in the year. Jim Perry was appointed to replace him and is in a primary with Billy Strickland. Winner will face Democrat Donna Lake. "Competitive -- Republican Favored." Perry won.

*Dist. 11, Johnston and Nash -- Incumbent Republican Rick Horner is stepping down. Three Republicans want the seat: Patrick Harris, Lisa Stone Barnes, and Dennis Nielsen. Winner will face the winner of the Democratic primary: either Allen Wellons or Albert R. Pacer (who also ran in 2018). "Competitive -- Republican Favored." Barnes won on the Republican side, Wellons on the Democratic. We profiled both Wellons and Barnes here.

*Dist. 18, Franklin and Wake -- Incumbent Republican John Alexander opted not to seek reelection because of redistricting. Two Democrats are running in this "Competitive -- Democratic Favored" district: Sarah Crawford and Angela Bridgman. Winner will face one of two Republicans: either Scott McKaig or Larry Norman. Also on the Nov. ballot: Libertarian Jason Loeback. Crawford won on the Democratic side, Norman on the Republican. We profiled Crawford here.

*Dist. 20, Durham -- Because incumbent Democrat Floyd McKissick opted to take an appointed seat on the Utilities Commission, there's a scrum of Democrats running for this "Likely Democratic" seat: Pierce Freelon, Natalie Murdock, and Gray Ellis. Winner will face Republican John Tarantino in Nov. Murdock won. We profiled Murdock here.

Dist. 29, Davidson and Montgomery -- Incumbent Republican Eddie Gallimore must get past Steve Jarvis in March before encountering Democrat Duskin Lassiter next Fall. "Likely Republican." Jarvis won.

Dist. 33, Rowan and Stanley -- Democrats Tarsha Ellis and Geoffrey Hoy competing to take on Republican incumbent Carl Ford next Nov. "Likely Republican." Ellis won.

*Dist. 38, Mecklenburg -- Democratic incumbent Mujtaba Mohammed (first elected last year) faces fellow Democrats Laura Anthony and Roderick Davis before facing Republican Jack Brosch next Nov. "Likely Democratic." Mohammed won.

*Dist. 39, Mecklenburg -- Republican Dan Bishop's old district (he's now in the US House), heavily redistricted to become "Likely Democratic." DeAndrea Salvador and Darrell Bonapart are competing on the Democratic side. Winner will take on Republican Josh Niday in Nov. In January, Bonapart was ruled ineligible to run by the SBOE. By default, DeAndrea Salvador is the Democratic nominee. We profiled Salvador here.

*Dist. 48, Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania -- Three Democrats -- Brian Caskey, Najah Underwood, and Cristal Figueroa -- are competing to challenge incumbent Republican Chuck Edwards, who was appointed to the seat to replace Sen. Tom Apodaca. "Lean Republican." Caskey won. We profiled Caskey here.

*Dist. 49, Buncombe -- Incumbent Democrat Terry van Duyn is stepping down to run for Lt. Governor. Three Democrats are competing for the seat: Julie Mayfield, Travis Smith, and Ben Scales. Winner will face Republican Bob Penland in Nov. "Likely Democratic." Mayfield won. We profiled Mayfield here.

Dist. 50, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain -- Incumbent Republican Jim Davis announced his retirement (but may now be the favorite in the crowded Republican primary in the 11th CD). Competing to replace Davis are Republicans Kevin Corbin and Sarah Conway. The winner will face Democrat Victoria Fox and Libertarian Clifton Ingram next Nov. "Likely Republican." Corbin won.

March 2020 NC Senate Primaries -- Complete List

This is Part II on a complete rundown of NC General Assembly partisan primaries on North Carolina ballots on March 3rd, 2020.

NC Senate primaries in both Democratic and Republican parties on March 3. Some of these will not be serious contests; others will be. An * below indicates a district worth watching. I've accepted the electability ratings proposed by political scientist Michael Bitzer based on partisan registrations in the newly drawn General Assembly districts.

Dist. 6, Jones and Onslow -- Incumbent Republican Senator Harry Brown is retiring, and two Republicans want the seat: Bob Williams and Michael Lazzara. Winner will face Democrat Ike Johnson in November. Rated "Likely Republican."

*Dist. 7, Lenoir and Wayne -- Incumbent Republican Louis Pate resigned earlier in the year. Jim Perry was appointed to replace him and is in a primary with Billy Strickland. Winner will face Democrat Donna Lake. "Competitive -- Republican Favored."

*Dist. 11, Johnston and Nash -- Incumbent Republican Rick Horner is stepping down. Three Republicans want the seat: Patrick Harris, Lisa Stone Barnes, and Dennis Nielsen. Winner will face the winner of the Democratic primary: either Allen Wellons or Albert R. Pacer (who also ran in 2018). "Competitive -- Republican Favored."

*Dist. 18, Franklin and Wake -- Incumbent Republican John Alexander opted not to seek reelection because of redistricting. Two Democrats are running in this "Competitive -- Democratic Favored" district: Sarah Crawford and Angela Bridgman. Winner will face one of two Republicans: either Scott McKaig or Larry Norman. Also on the Nov. ballot: Libertarian Jason Loeback. 

*Dist. 20, Durham -- Because incumbent Democrat Floyd McKissick opted to take an appointed seat on the Utilities Commission, there's a scrum of Democrats running for this "Likely Democratic" seat: Pierce Freelon, Natalie Murdock, and Gray Ellis. Winner will face Republican John Tarantino in Nov.

Dist. 29, Davidson and Montgomery -- Incumbent Republican Eddie Gallimore must get past Steve Jarvis in March before encountering Democrat Duskin Lassiter next Fall. "Likely Republican."

Dist. 33, Rowan and Stanley -- Democrats Tarsha Ellis and Geoffrey Hoy competing to take on Republican incumbent Carl Ford next Nov. "Likely Republican."

*Dist. 38, Mecklenburg -- Democratic incumbent Mujtaba Mohammed (first elected last year) faces fellow Democrats Laura Anthony and Roderick Davis before facing Republican Jack Brosch next Nov. "Likely Democratic."

*Dist. 39, Mecklenburg -- Republican Dan Bishop's old district (he's now in the US House), heavily redistricted to become "Likely Democratic." DeAndrea Salvador and Darrell Bonapart are competing on the Democratic side. Winner will take on Republican Josh Niday in Nov.

*Dist. 48, Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvania -- Three Democrats -- Brian Caskey, Najah Underwood, and Cristal Figueroa -- are competing to challenge incumbent Republican Chuck Edwards, who was appointed to the seat to replace Sen. Tom Apodaca. "Lean Republican."

*Dist. 49, Buncombe -- Incumbent Democrat Terry van Duyn is stepping down to run for Lt. Governor. Three Democrats are competing for the seat: Julie Mayfield, Travis Smith, and Ben Scales. Winner will face Republican Bob Penland in Nov. "Likely Democratic."

Dist. 50, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain -- Incumbent Republican Jim Davis announced his retirement (but may now be the favorite in the crowded Republican primary in the 11th CD). Competing to replace Davis are Republicans Kevin Corbin and Sarah Conway. The winner will face Democrat Victoria Fox and Libertarian Clifton Ingram next Nov. "Likely Republican."

What Democrat Will Step Forward To Run for NC Senate District 31?

Democrat John Motsinger challenged incumbent Republican state Senator Joyce Krawiec in 2018 for the NC Senate District 31 seat, which includes part of Forsyth and all of Davie counties. Krawiec buried Motsinger in that election, beating him by 20,000 votes. But the district has been redrawn under court order. It still includes all of Davie County -- one of the most dependably Republican counties in North Carolina -- but its portion of Forsyth has been seriously realigned, eliminating all of the western Winston-Salem suburbs but including more of the Winston-Salem urban core. This new map has yet to receive judicial approval.

I noticed on Facebook that John Motsinger announced on September 25 that he would not be running for that Senate seat again -- he is incidentally the son of Forsyth County School Board member Elisabeth Motsinger, she who also ran against Virginia Foxx for Congress in 2012 -- but that he knows of "a few people who have expressed an interest" in running next year. With the opening of candidate filing approaching rapidly -- the first week in December -- we're mightily interested in seeing a strong Democrat step into that race.

Michael Bitzer recently listed the new map as "Competitive, Republican Favored," perhaps because Republicans lost some 8.4% of its predicted vote share in the remapping. And Real Facts NC also recently named the 31st Senate District as a 2020 race to watch.

I'm watching, avidly, to see what characters may enter, stage left. The flipping of the entire NC Senate to Democrat has always seemed like a bridge too far, but with the volatility of impeachment drama and the breeding bughouse in Mugstomp-on-the-Potomac, just about anything can happen. And if other more informed commentators say the 31st Senate District is flippable, who am I to suggest otherwise?

What Are the Most Flippable NC Senate Seats for 2020?

Numero Uno Democratic Pickup Opportunity for 2020
Republican Dan Bishop's NC Senate District 39. Bishop just got elected to the US House. His successor to fill out his NC Senate term has not yet been named. Whoever it is will face a stark new reality: NCS39 has gone from "Strong Republican" (according to ratings by the NC Free Enterprise Foundation in 2018) to "Likely Democratic" in Michael Bitzer's analysis of the new court-ordered maps.

Look for spirited competition for this seat in the 2020 March Democratic primary.

"Competitive, Democratic Favored"
One Republican incumbent is the sitting duck here: John M. Alexander. Or rather his district 18, since Alexander himself has already seen the writing on the proverbial wall and announced he will not be running again.

Democrat Christine Kushner, who was planning to run in the 18th, is now in the redrawn 16th District with incumbent Democrat Wiley Nickel (rated "Likely Democrat"). Democrat Matt Cox, who was already running in the 18th, has also been drawn out of the new district. I hear the name of Democrat Sarah Crawford rumored for the now open 18th District.

Flippable Republican Incumbents
If it's a Blue Wave again in 2020, then these districts deserve dollar targetting and/or smart Democratic recruitment:

"Competitive But Republican Favored"

Republican Louis Pate, District 7 -- Pate has already announced his retirement, and Democrat Donna Lake, who's already up and running, seems a good prospect to flip the district if she sharpens her policy positions.

Republican Rick Horner, District 11 -- Horner won in 2018 with over 56% of the vote against Democrat Albert Pacer, who says he's running again in 2020. Pacer may not be the strongest Democratic candidate.

Republican Joyce Krawiec, District 31 -- Krawiec romped to reelection in 2018 with 61% of the vote against Democrat John Motsinger Jr. A stronger Democratic recruitee might make a race of it.

"Lean Republican"

Republican Rick Gunn, District 24 -- Gunn beat Democrat J.D. Wooten by just over 6,000 votes in 2018, and Wooten is already in the race for a rematch. 

Republican Danny Earl Britt, District 13 -- Won reelection in 2018 with 62.50% of the vote. He's probably unbeatable.

Republican Bob Steinburg, District 1 -- Steinburg beat Democrat D. Cole Phelps in 2018 with 53.21% of the vote to 46.75%. That's a hill that looks climbable to me.

Republican Tom McInnis, District 25 -- McInnis took 57% of the vote against Democrat Helen Probst Mills in 2018. Which was discouraging.

Republican Rick Edwards, District 48 -- Edwards took 56% of the vote against Norm Bossert in this Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania district in 2018.

Is Mack Paul Considering Another Run for NC Senate in District 18?

Well, he should consider it. He hasn't made any public pronouncements about running again -- at least not that we can discover -- but he would be well positioned to capitalize on his name recognition from the 2018 race.

Mack Paul had the closest loss of any Democrat running for any NC Senate seat in 2018, losing to incumbent Republican John Alexander by 2,639 votes out of 103,804 total votes cast, the highest turnout for all NC Senate races. District 18, weirdly gerrymandered into downtown Raleigh but taking in mainly northern Wake County (and the town of Wake Forest) and all of much more rural Franklin County, was considered "lean Republican" in 2018, which means that Mack Paul did exceptionally well in that election.

Mack Paul

Paul is a real estate lawyer (Columbia University School of Law), a founding partner of Morningstar Law Group, and a past chair of the Wake County Democratic Party. As Democratic Party chair in 2011, Paul was very active in helping elect progressive members of the Wake County School Board which had been taken over by extremely conservative Republicans in 2009. The Republicans had dumped the longstanding diversity policy which the newly elected Democrats began restoring.

Republican John Alexander was first elected in 2014 in Senate District 15 by a very narrow margin (50.4% v. 49.6%), won reelection with just 50.01% in 2016, got double-bunked in 2018 with another Republican (who decided to retire) into District 18, and managed to hold onto a senate seat against a strong tide running in Mack Paul's direction. With Trumpism turning to wormwood and gall in that part of North Carolina, John Alexander looks ever more ripe for the plucking in 2020.

UPDATE
Just heard that Christine Kushner, who won a seat on the Wake School Board in that 2011 race, will be running for this Senate seat in District 18. She'll be a strong candidate. I'm told that Kushner is "very squared away. Also can raise money."

Woot!

In Your Face, Duke Energy! Democrat Brian Caskey Bringing Heat in NC Senate District 48

You wanna see the new Democratic determination to change things in Raleigh? Look no further than Brian Caskey of Mills River in Henderson County. He's been an announced candidate for the NC Senate since February of this year, and he's built out an impressive Facebook feed and website that display a full-blown and serious campaign.

He's certainly gotten the attention of Duke Energy:

"You know you’re pushing the right buttons when you link Duke Energy to corruption and immediately get a letter from them. I added the part in the middle to show how much they gave [Republican incumbent Senator] Chuck Edwards last year."

Brian Caskey

There is no disputing that Duke Energy has powerful friends in the NC General Assembly who are always maneuvering to let Duke Energy off the hook for coal ash pollution, and there's no disputing that Duke Energy gives them lots of cash. You can call that "cake icing" if you want to, but I think you'd be justified in calling it "corruption" of the legislative process.

Caskey looks like a scrapper, and we like that in a Democrat. He's an elected member of the Mills River town council, and he introduced the resolution to support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina. "I am determined that my daughters will have a level playing field, and that they will know that they are equal to men in the classroom as well as in the work environment."

Meanwhile, the incumbent Republican Chuck Edwards looks like a tool (and not just with reference to the Duke Energy campaign contributions). As co-chair of the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee, Edwards helped kill (just yesterday!) a House bill that would have banned the use of handheld cellphones while driving.

Chuck Edwards

A few days ago while Edwards was chairing the Senate Commerce Committee, the bill to allow alcohol sales in shopping malls statewide came up for consideration, and interestingly (in light of the many Republican teetotalers in Edwards' district), he pushed the bill forward despite the committee's majority vote against it. According to Lauren Horsch, "A voice vote on the bill was divided, with seemingly more “no” votes than “aye” votes, but Chairman Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson, ruled in favor of supporters and moved the bill forward. There are no recorded or roll call votes in state Senate committees."

That looks like corruption too, O my brethren!

Edwards was appointed to the Senate late in 2016 to replace the retiring Tom Apodaca, then won on his own in November 2016, and ran for reelection in 2018 and got 56% of the vote. That frankly looks like a soft percentage for a Republican in that district, but it's still an uphill haul for Caskey. We'll be watching how he pulls that load and wishing him the best.

Holy Flippity Flip, Batman!

What happened in these NC House and Senate races that we were watching:

NC HOUSE -- Districts that flipped are highlighted. NOTE: The race in District 103 (Rachel Hunt) is so close that provisional ballots could still win it for Democrats. Bottomline: Republican super-majority has been decisively broken

Winner Christy Clark in NCHD98

Gail Young in NC House District 83 -- incumbent Larry Pittman beat her 52.95% v. 47.05% -- impressive showing by Gail Young

*Christy Clark in Dist. 98 -- is ahead of incumbent John Bradford by 333 votes. Provisional ballots and mail-in absentees still to be counted

Joe Fowler in Dist. 76 -- was easily beaten by incumbent Harry Warren

Steven Buccini in Dist. 59 -- beaten by incumbent Jon Hardister, who took almost 57% of the vote

Dan Besse in Dist. 75 -- made a respectable showing (almost 47%) against incumbent Donny Lambeth

Marcia Morgan in Dist. 19 -- incumbent Ted Davis beat her by less than a thousand votes and couldn't reach 50% of the total because of a Libertarian in the race

*Terence Everitt in Dist. 35 -- beat Republican veteran incumbent Chris Malone with 51% of the vote

*Brandon Lofton in Dist. 104 -- won this district with 51.63% of the vote

Rhonda Schandevel in Dist. 118 -- lost her rematch with incumbent Michele Presnell

*Joe Sam Queen in Dist. 119 -- took his old seat back from Republican Mike Clampitt

Lowell Simon in Dist. 52 -- was easily defeated by the Republican

*Ashton Clemmons in Dist. 57 -- buried her Republican opponent with 67.53% of the vote

Leslie Cohen in Dist. 20 -- was edged out by a slim margin of 2,000 votes

*Kandie Smith in Dist. 8 -- buried her Republican opponent

Sam Edney in Dist. 113 -- didn't come close against the Republican

Rick Foulke in Dist. 68 -- didn't come close against the Republican

Dan Whitten in Dist. 15 -- was buried by his Republican opponent

Darryl Moss in Dist. 2 -- easily beaten

Linda Bennett in Dist. 26 -- easily beaten

Erica McAdoo in Dist. 63 -- heartbreaker! She's 295 votes behind Republican Stephen Ross

Wendy B. Sellers in Dist. 80 -- buried by the Republican

*Wesley Harris in Dist. 105 -- won, taking over 52% of the vote

Susan Maxon in Dist. 109 -- easily beaten by the Republican. Interestingly, write-in candidates took 77 votes

Albeiro Florez in Dist. 45 -- only took 41.54% of the vote

Ron Wesson in Dist. 1 -- took 46.88% of the vote against the Republican

Kim Bost in Dist. 96 -- attractive candidate in an impossible district

*Zack Hawkins in Dist. 31 -- a foregone conclusion ... took 80.99% of the vote. This is not a flip, as the seat was held by Democrat Mickey Michaux for years 

*James D. Gailliard in Dist. 25 -- won this district with 51.43% of the vote

Tess Judge in Dist. 6 -- lost in her second try for this seat

*Sydney Batch in Dist. 37 -- won against the Republican with 49.76% of the vote, with a Libertarian also in the race

Rachel Hunt in Dist. 103 -- is 52 votes behind Republican Bill Brawley. Provisional ballots still to be counted. It ain't over!

*Julie von Haefen in Dist. 36 -- is 687 votes against Republican powerhouse Nelson Dollar

*Ray Russell in Dist. 93 -- edged out incumbent Jonathan Jordan with 52% of the vote

Barbara Yates-Lockamy in Dist. 46 -- hardly ran a campaign and lost badly

David Brinkley in Dist. 111 -- wouldn't run against incumbent Tim Moore's corruption and lost badly

Aimy Steele in Dist. 82 -- took a respectable 47% of the vote against Republican Linda Johnson

Terri LeGrand in Dist. 74 -- another heartbreaker ... lost to Republican Debra Conrad with 45.36% of the vote

Martha Shafer in Dist. 62 -- beaten

NCSENATE -- Republican super-majority has been broken

Winner Natasha Marcus
in NCSD 41

*Natasha Marcus Dist. 41 -- easily beat Republican incumbent Jeff Tarte

Mack Paul in NC Senate District 18 -- barely beaten by Republican John Alexander, who took 49.85% of the vote in a three-way race

*Harper Peterson in Dist. 9 -- is ahead of his Republican opponent by a mere 36 votes, with many provisional ballots still to be counted. A Libertarian candidate appears to have taken important votes from the Republican

Ginger Garner in Dist. 2 -- attractive candidate, beaten badly

Helen Probst Mills in Dist. 25 -- lost to incumbent Republican Tom McInnis

Ric Vandett in Dist 42 -- lost badly in a really difficult district

Caroline Walker in Dist. 35 -- another really attractive candidate who couldn't make a go against the Republican running for an open seat

*Sam Searcy in Dist. 17 -- took 50.44% of the vote against incumbent Republican Tamara Barringer

Cheraton Love in Dist. 29 -- was buried by the Republican

Bobby Kuppers in Dist. 50 -- buried

Jen Mangrum in Dist. 30 -- our greatest heartbreak ... she lost to bully Phil Berger but was an inspiration to thousands

*Wiley Nickel in Dist. 16 -- won easily in a three-way race

J. D. Wooten in Dist. 24 -- lost, but took a respectable 46% of the vote

*Michael K. Garrett in Dist. 27 -- is ahead of the poisonous Republican Trudy Wade by 763 votes

*Kirk DeViere in Dist. 19 -- won against Wesley Meredith, with 50.26% of the vote

*Mujtaba Mohammed in Dist. 38 -- buried his Republican opponent with over 81% of the vote. This is not a flip, as the district was previously held by a Democrat, whom Mujtaba defeated in the primary

A Note on Gerrymandering and the Current Unconstitutional District Lines in North Carolina

You don't think it makes a difference who draws the district lines?

Yesterday for the NC House -- GOP won 55% of the seats but only 48.5% of the votes. Democrats took 50.9% of the votes but won only 45% of the seats.

For the NC Senate -- GOP won 58% of the seats with only 50.5% of the votes. Democrats took 48.6% of the votes but won only 42% of the seats.

Statistics from Jonathan Kappler

Sen. Dan Bishop -- NC's Poster Child for White Supremacy

The Pittsburgh synagogue killer posted "I'm going in!" on a Far Right social media platform called Gab (which is currently displaying just a declaration that it's not going away, although for the moment, it's away, shut down, caput).

News surfaced this past week that the only known investor in Gab is a North Carolina member of the NC Senate, Dan Bishop, who gave the start-up $500 through its crowd-funding push in 2017.

Here's the crucial evidence for what Senator Bishop thought he was supporting with his $500. This headline in the Washington Post: "Silicon Valley escalates its war on white supremacy despite free speech concerns." The article was about the unheralded struggle of racists to get their racism out into the American mass-media bloodstream without a lot of social media gatekeepers (like PayPal) crying "racism" and shutting them down.

And Senator Dan Bishop thought, Yassir! That's who I want to give my money to! According to reporter Billy Corriher, "The senator tweeted about his investment in Gab on Aug. 17, 2017, saying he had just read about the company in a Washington Post article .... After reading this, Bishop said that he's 'about done with [San Francisco] tech giants' Big Brother routine' and implied that the companies' banning of white supremacists was a form of 'tyranny.' "

Exposed as a promoter of Gab, Senator Bishop now says this: If Gab "allows its users to promote violence, anti-Semitism, and racism on the platform, they have certainly misled investors." In an editorial, the Charlotte Observer said that to believe Bishop's defense, "you also would need to believe he wasn't aware in 2017 of Gab's links to hate groups — despite common knowledge and the article he cited — and that he did not investigate or even explore the site before giving it $500 of his money."

Bishop was only elected to the NC Senate in 2016 after serving in the NC House. He was opposed this year in the Republican primary by Beth Monaghan, a credible, moderate Republican woman upset with Bishop's authorship of the notorious HB2 "Bathroom Bill." We wrote extensively about Monaghan back in April as the primary approached, hoping there was still life in moderate Republicanism in North Carolina. Unfortunately, there wasn't life.

Chad Stachowicz with his family

Bishop's Democratic challenger next Tuesday ... Chad Stachowicz. I'm cannabilizing what I wrote about Stachowicz in April:

Stachowicz is CEO of Cloverhound, an IT company he founded that has employees in North Carolina, Colorado, and Ohio. He describes himself as "socially liberal but fiscally conservative." "A fiscal conservative to me means spending money in the right way and making sure we get a return on our investment," Stachowicz says. The public investment needs to be in education, sure, but there are different kinds of educations that deserve our support: “I come from a generation where they preach that college is the only way to make it. That is a way to go for some, but an electrician is a job here in North Carolina where there is a great need. An electrician will make close to $70,000 once they finish their apprenticeship, which is two years."

The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) has endorsed Sachowicz. So has Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic. And the New South Progressives. And Moms Demand Action.

I haven't followed Stachowicz's campaign. I hope he's been running hard and effectively, and I hope that the voters in the 39th senatorial district (Mecklenburg County) think that maybe Dan Bishop isn't the sort of man they want representing them in the future.

More Democratic Hopes for the NC Senate

We posted yesterday about five Democratic candidates who could break the Republican super-majority (down-column) and who are running in districts considered either competitive or "lean Democratic."

Below are videos by some Democrats running in NC Senate districts rated "lean Republican" and "strong Republican," and several of them have already made a reputation as stars in the 2018 Democratic crown. Can they win? Yes. Especially in a year like 2018 has proven to be.

A David Up Against Goliath Ralph Hise

Democrat David Wheeler is running to unseat a big Republican dog in the NC Senate, Ralph Hise from nearby Spruce Pine. Senate District 47 is a difficult mix of mountain and lowland counties that wraps around Buncombe to the north and east, including all of Madison, Yancey, and Mitchell on the Tennessee border, continuing southward through McDowell, and concluding with Rutherford and Polk on the South Carolina border. Whew! How would you like to campaign over that bumpy ground?

The bulk of the population in District 47 lives in the lowland counties. Rutherford alone has more people than the three mountain counties of Madison, Yancey, and Mitchell combined. Both Democrat Wheeler and the incumbent Republican Ralph Hise live in Spruce Pine in Mitchell County. The winner this fall might be the man who hustles the most in the "downhill from home."

David Wheeler

David Wheeler looks for all the world like he's hustling votes. His Facebook feed suggests that he's mounted an active and aggressive campaign, and he got some earned media in the lowlands last month when he got asked to leave the controversial Word of Faith church in Rutherford County. That church has been a Rutherford County scandal for years, essentially enslaving and abusing its members and being winked at by local government including state Senator Ralph Hise. Wheeler's was a bold move that got him noticed. Will it also get him votes?

Sen. Ralph Hise

Incumbent Hise has set himself up for a massive fall. He's one of Senate boss Phil Berger's best boys, very active in attempting to gerrymander the North Carolina judiciary and to squeeze ballot access into something that might fit comfortably into his coat pocket. He is trailing a history of questionable and illegal campaign finance practices. As of February of this year, the NC Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement was still investigating complaints filed against Hise in 2017, and I can't find any evidence that Ethics enforcement has ever reached a conclusion.

The original complaint against Hise, filed in March of 2017 by activist Greg Flynn, detailed a variety of errors and omissions in Hise’s campaign disclosures. They include:

✿ Hise loaned about $50,000 to the campaign, but was repaid about $60,000 according to the reports. 

✿ Required information about campaign contributors – including employers and addresses – were missing from the reports. 

✿ A failure to report more than $9,000 that nine political action committees reported making to his campaign over a four year period. 

✿ A failure to provide itemized information on thousands of dollars in campaign disbursements.

If there ever was an incumbent hog feeding at the trough, it's Hise, and he needs to go. David Wheeler might be the candidate to send him packing in a year like 2018.

Republican Dinosaur, Norm Sanderson, Steps in His Own Poo

Ginger Garner with her family

Republican State Senator Norm Sanderson made headlines this week patronizing some high school girls (praising them essentially as bait for boys) while they visited his Senate committee meeting.

Sanderson's fellow Republicans cringed.

Democrat Ginger Garner, an accomplished professional, is running against Sanderson this fall in what is considered a safe Republican district. Perhaps she can school this old dinosaur.

Senate District 2 takes in Carteret, Craven, and Pamlico counties on the NC coast.

Ginger Garner is a doctor of physical therapy and a longtime orthopaedic clinician serving the healthcare needs of new mothers and the military (Cherry Point is in her district). She was born in Asheboro "to teenage parents," Republicans who instilled in her the values of hard work and thriftiness which she brings with her into running for office as a Democrat. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and her Master of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the founder of the Professional Yoga Therapy Institute (2000), the first interdisciplinary, medical yoga program in the world. She also established the first doctoral level medical yoga curricula, now adopted by medical schools throughout the US and Canada. She says on her website, "My story speaks for itself: for 20 years I have served our coastal community as a physical therapist, as an aid and Christian mission worker, as a volunteer, as a CEO and small business owner, and as a wife and mother of three." She mentions the opioid epidemic as a major concern of hers along with protection of the North Carolina coast from offshore drilling. She is everything that Norm Sanderson isn't -- the essence of resistance to Trumpism in 2018.

Norm Sanderson is a three-term Republican senator, first elected in 2012. In 2014 and 2016,

Incumbent Norm Sanderson

Sanderson won with about 60 percent of the vote. According to Ballotpedia, Sanderson received a B.A. in "Christian education" from Logos University in 2002. Logos is an on-line, Bible-based, interdenominational education-dispensary based in Jacksonville, Florida. Sanderson's professional experience includes working as a sheriff's deputy and as a real estate business owner. He currently owns Kids Heaven School Age Care Center. In 2017, Sanderson proposed a poisonous anti-immigrant sanctuary city law to punish the state's cities if they won't participate in rounding up brown people. Sanderson is a conservative true believer in Phil Bergerism. He has said that North Carolina is a much better place now and ever since Republican took over in Raleigh in 2011.

Republican Fratricide in NC Senate District 25

Helen Probst Mills

I wrote about Helen Probst Mills, the Pinehurst lawyer recently appointed to the Sandhills Community College Board of Trustees, back early in February when the only Republican in that race for NC Senate District 25 was the incumbent, Tom McInnis.

A lot has happened since then.

Helen Probst Mills is still the strong Democratic candidate, in a race no one thinks she can win. But that's the enduring narrative of 2018: impossible odds, overcome suddenly and without much warning.

Senate District 25 has been seriously redrawn in court-ordered redistricting, and the crowd that elected Tom McInnis in 2014 no longer exists. Less than half of the voters in the new District 25 have ever seen McInnis's name on their ballot before. Mainly because the new district now contains all of Moore County, by far the center of population for the district, and Moore County pulsates as a hotbed of rabidly conservative politics (home of the Daily Haymaker) -- Republican voters who'll throw out a Republican incumbent at the drop of a bumpersticker.

So naturally, Tom McInnis has a Republican primary opponent, the mayor of Whispering Pines, Michelle Lexo.



Michelle Lexo --
She pins herself with neon words. From her website: "Mother. Christian. Conservative." Those periods are assertive, let alone the words. Ready for a fight.

Michelle Lexo

She spent her career in health-care services. Her last job was the assistant director of radiology at a large trauma hospital. She retired to Whispering Pines (pop. 3,000) and was soon tapped for the village council. She's known, apparently, as a know-it-all, being the one official in the room sure to have read every scrap of information available on a subject and to have developed a strong opinion about the whole shooting match. A strong opinion in synch, that is, with "Mother. Christian. Conservative."

She's strongly endorsed by Brant Clifton's "common sense conservative" website, "The Daily Haymaker."

Lexo ... is regularly attacked by incumbent senator Tom McInnis and his supporters as a “lightweight.” Never mind her advanced training in the medical field and her career as a senior hospital executive. Never mind that her hometown has experienced some of its most dramatic growth on her watch as mayor. McInnis supporters have worked overtime to paint Lexo as mentally unstable and not very smart.

Mentally unstable and not very smart?

Meanwhile, Lexo has compared and contrasted herself and McInnis on the issues: He supported the HB2 “repeal” / “compromise.” She didn’t like it. He supports the tier system in economic development. She does not. He supports government subsidies for solar and wind energy companies. She does not.

Got it.


Incumbent Republican Tom McInnis --

Tom McInnis

McInnis is a good ole boy auctioneer not above cutting deals. (Lexo is the deal. She doesn't cut them. Meanwhile, have you ever met an honest auctioneer, strictly speaking?)

According to VoteSmart.org, McInnis never took a college class, and his only education above the  high school level was auctioneer school. He's got native smarts, especially for sharp dealing, and he knows how to go along for a ride and how to milk a moment. Curiously, he lists no religious nor denominational affiliation, which might be an opening for Mother. Christian. Conservative.

Clearly, Lexo is making insurgent gains against him, because the Republican establishment has rushed in mailers for McInnis -- both the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and the NC Chamber of Commerce. Jonathan Kappler tweeted that McInnis was taking Lexo very seriously indeed: "I hear he's been in Moore county a lot and I saw lots of signs and billboards for him in the area."

McInnis campaign photo

Jonathan Kappler also dubbed McInnis "the pop heavy-weight" in the primary race, but if Brant Clifton at The Daily Haymaker thinks you're a fake, then you might be in trouble with other Moore County Republicans likely to vote in a primary.

So McInnis is going heavy on the crypto gun lover bit in his social media and posing as devoutly Christian in a kind of Trumpian way, tweeting out the text of John 3:16 on Easter Sunday.

If the Republicans of District 25 throw over McInnis for the mentally unstable and not very smart Michelle Lexo, then indeed the blue wave could crash there too.

A Clear Choice in the NC Senate District 38 Democratic Primary

North Carolina Senate District 38 occupies a good solid swath of north Mecklenburg County and is described as "an extremely safe Democratic seat" and a district where Governor Roy Cooper won 75% of the vote in 2016. Its Democratic incumbent, Joel Ford, is facing stiff primary opposition from Mujtaba Mohammed.

Democrat Mujtaba Mohammed was born in South Carolina to immigrants from India. He grew up in Greenville, SC, but the family moved to Mecklenburg where Mujtaba finished high school at North Meck and went on to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and the North Carolina Central School of Law. With his law degree in hand, he returned to Charlotte in 2012 and went to work for the Council for Children's Rights. His concern for the rights of the underprivileged led him into full-time work for the public defender's office in Mecklenburg County. He is married to a dental hygienist and they have two young children.

Mujtaba Mohammed

Mujtaba criticizes the Republican General Assembly for having twisted priorities: "[The North Carolina General Assembly is] balancing budgets on the backs of poor people, expanding our sales tax, while the rich continue to be able to support their jets and their yachts and things like that," Mujtaba told Ryan Pitkin of Creative Loafing. "We’ve got to invest in our families. That’s what’s going to help public safety. That’s what’s going to help create a global economy."

Being an advocate for children, some of whom are already in serious trouble and already well into "the school-to-prison pipeline," Mujtaba sees first-hand the effects of Raleigh wrong-headedness: "I see kids when they’re already in the criminal justice system, when they already have criminal records, and it becomes a public safety issue. If we invest in our young people from the beginning, if we support our families, it’s going to save us money in the long run, and it’s going to make us a more progressive society. It’s going to prepare young people for a global economy and build a strong work force." Instead of building more and bigger prisons, North Carolina should be investing in childhood education.

Mujtaba is a fighter for justice, and he knows the realities of citizens who can't afford lobbyists.

Incumbent Democrat Joel Ford regularly votes with the Republican majority, especially on the state budgets that Mujtaba Mohammed is so critical of. Ford was first elected to the chamber in 2012, and he's never had more than token Republican opposition in any general election since, though he had a credible Democratic opponent in the primary of 2016 who got over 47% of the vote. Ford ran for mayor of Charlotte in 2016 and came in third in the Democratic mayoral primary against eventual winner Vi Lyles.

Joel Ford

Ford has received much criticism for his apparent hostility to LGBT rights. He voted for the passage of the notorious Amendment One, which attempted to make same-sex marriage illegal in North Carolina. He was one of the few Democrats to support a Republican bill to allow magistrates to recuse themselves from performing same-sex marriages. When LGBT activists criticized his record after he announced his Charlotte mayoral bid, Ford responded to the activists via Twitter with a GIF of a dog defecating in the snow. He later removed the tweet and apologized.

He has not apologized for voting with the Phil Berger majority in the NC Senate some 70% of the time. Realfactsnc.com has documented "Ford’s record of looking out for himself first."

Landscape in NC Senate District 19 Looks Rocky

NC Senate District 19 -- Republican incumbent Wesley Meredith

Wesley Meredith

This description of Meredith caught our attention in Real Facts NC's assessment of the District 19 race: "Meredith, a top lieutenant of Senate Leader Berger, now finds himself in a redrawn district where 30 percent of the voters haven’t seen his name on their ballot before. Gov. Cooper won Meredith’s new district in 2016. However, given Meredith’s deep unpopularity with folks that know him, being less well known to the voters he’ll face might be an advantage."

Meredith is a mean campaigner. He beat Democratic incumbent Margaret Dickson in his first campaign in 2010 with what many observers considered sexist attacks and innuendo. He eked out a win with 51% of the vote. His district was promptly gerrymandered to make it friendlier for a Republican, and he more easily won reelection in 2012 against a weaker Democratic opponent. In 2014, he faced a strong Democratic candidate who produced evidence that Meredith had soaked up social welfare money in the 1990s on a six-figure income, and an ex-wife of Meredith's jumped in and corroborated the charges. That scandal got Meredith a good going-over on the Wonkette website, but he won the race again anyway with some very mean TV spots aimed at his Democratic opponent.

This year Meredith is running in a court-ordered redrawing of District 19 that might not be so friendly. We would expect him to go full-bore negative on his Democratic opponent, but whoever that Democrat turns out to be (after the May 8th primary), he'll have a smorgasbord of Meredith's record to work with in his own attack ads. Let's hope he's got the will to answer every attack.

The likely Democrat in District. 19 -- Kirk deViere

Kirk deViere

DeViere has to survive a primary first with a former Cumberland County district court judge, Ed Donaldson, who was last in elective office a dozen years ago.

DeViere is a former Fayetteville city councilman (as was Wesley Meredith prior to 2010). He is president and owner of the 219 Group, a marketing and advertising company in Fayetteville. He ran more than once unsuccessfully to be mayor of Fayetteville, first as an unaffiliated voter before switching his registration to Democrat early in 2017. In the municipal elections of 2017, deViere didn't make it through the mayoral primary and was criticized for accepting the endorsement of Anthony Chavonne, a former mayor whose tenure was "littered with strife, corruption and malfeasance." 

DeViere's campaign website is woefully under-developed at the moment and needs some protein, especially for a man who makes his living as a marketer and promoter. Where's the beef?