Tim Moore Enters Congressional Race Under Small Arms Fire

 

Late yesterday, Tim Moore's political strategist got to break the news that Moore will indeed be doing in 2024 what every sentient politico in the state knew he was going to do -- run for the newly drawn and personally crafted 14th CD seat, which includes his home county of Cleveland.

There's already a Republican candidate announced in that race, an ex-Green Beret named Pat Harrigan, who "welcomed" Moore to the contest with this statement:

Tagging Moore as a "casino activist" hardly scratches the surface, though bringing up his "legacy of corruption" at least gets us on the right map for evaluating Moore's outstanding qualities as a candidate. Harrigan on his website makes a point of evoking the West Point Honor Code, which he says is sorely needed for members of Congress and which Tim Moore would presumably fail miserably.

The contrast between Harrigan and Moore could launch multiple memes. Harrigan is a lean warrior and is running as a metaphorical Green Beret of conservative thought and action. He tells us that while still on active duty at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, he started a small arms business out of his doublewide which grew into an arms manufacturing business, ZRODELTA, which in 2018 opened a plant with 65 workers in Burke County just off I-40. A Republican arms manufacturer running for Congress ought to be pure catnip for the conservatives of the new 14th CD, especially when they consider the sinewy, sacrificing Harrigan next to the pudgy, self-interested Tim Moore.

 

Harrigan ran for this seat in 2022 against Jeff Jackson, who won with 58% in a district that was much more favorable for a Democrat. It's been radically redrawn, which led to Jackson's stepping aside to run for the statewide office of Attorney General. For a brief couple of weeks, Harrigan was the only Republican in the primary, but he was clearly anticipating the entrance of Tim Moore. He had that "Welcome to the Race" statement written and cued up well before the news of Moore's run hit the wires.