Defeat or Defection?

Jim Crawford

NC House member James W. Crawford was one of the Five Democratic Goobers who voted to override Gov. Perdue's veto of the education-killing Republican budget last year ... among other defections from the Democratic cause.

House Republicans rewarded Crawford for his treasons by making him the only Democrat among the key budget-writers in the House. They also "double-bunked" him in their redistricting plan with another incumbent Democratic House member in House Dist. 2, Winkie Wilkins, so there will probably be a primary between the two of them (and perhaps one or two other Democrats).

At the moment, polling in that district shows Wilkins easily beating Crawford.

What's up next? You might expect Crawford to switch to Republican, especially as there is as yet no declared Republican candidate in Dist. 2. It's almost as though the Republican Party were keeping the slot open specifically for Crawford.