One of the Most Endangered Democrats in the NC House

 

I wrote about NC House District 73 (Cabarrus Co.) the day after the fall elections of 2022, when Democrat Diamond Staton-Williams won an open seat and flipped the district blue:

Democrat Diamond Staton-Williams has apparently edged out Republican Brian Echevarria by 425 votes. I gotta eat crow on this one. I didn't give Staton-Williams much credit. For sure, I thought Echevarria would win easily in a red wave, and I sure am glad there was no wave and hope that Staton-Williams' slim margin holds.

An edge of 425 votes now seems like a luxury. Staton-Williams' district has been gerrymandered into an R+3 situation. The Rs forced more of Rev. Larry Pittman's old turf in Cabarrus on Staton-Williams, so that Dave's scores her jiggered district now at only 44.6% D to 53% R. A very difficult piece of math.

[NOTE: Every foreshadowing of how this 2024 election will go has to start with the possibility of a genuine Blue Wave in 100 days, when 6-point advantages suddenly disappear, when new or infrequent voters come out of their bubbles and fight their way to the polls, and when more Rs than anyone predicted, especially suburban Republican women, abandon their party.

Diamond Staton-Williams, Democrat, incumbent

Before her election in 2022, Staton-Williams had been a member of the Harrisburg Town Council and a nurse. Harrisburg (pop. 20,000) is essentially a suburb now of Charlotte, very near Charlotte Motor Speedway and 13 miles to the center of Charlotte. 

Staton-Williams has always been a working mom, with three kids (only 1 still at home). but look at her deeds (info from her business site, DSW Consulting):

...received her ADN from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC in 2003 where she served as the President of the Student Nurses Association. She went on to receive her BSN in 2006 from UNC Greensboro. In 2010, Diamond completed her Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Pfeiffer University. She is currently employed as a Director for the Outpatient and Community Care Management Department for Atrium Health and is Certified as an American Case Manager and Board Certified Nurse Executive....

....volunteer with the Cabarrus County Ombudsman program for Adult Care Homes, Cabarrus County Schools, NCNA Awards Committee, ANA Awards Committee, and the YMCA as a Camp Nurse for Camp Thunderbird. Diamond is also a Board Member of Daymark Services in Cabarrus County, the NC Nurses Foundation, and Communities in Schools Charlotte – Mecklenburg. She has been a member of the NCNA/ANA and ACHE.

DSW Consulting advertises "Nurse Leadership Consulting: Delivering comprehensive services to individuals and organizations encompassing leadership development, performance enhancement, succession planning, mentorship and coaching, and policy and advocacy initiatives." Looks professional.

Mr. Mean Eyes

Staton-Williams endured the verbal slurs of Rep. Keith Kidwell (of the mean eyes) during debate on the abortion bill veto override. When Staton-Williams grew tearful, confessing her own story as illustration of difficult decisions -- she'd grown up in the church, she said. From the sidelines Kidwell quipped, "She means the Church of Satan," loud enough for nearby staffers and House pages to hear him. Will Doran, the reporter for the News and Observer, also heard him.

She seems pretty competent to me, strong enough to stand up to the Keith Kidwells of the Republican caucus. She's a soldier and well networked through the community. She can make up for the new Republican lean of her district with aggressive voter registration (new and young voters especially) and targeted canvassing.

Jonathan Almond, Republican

Almond brags about his real world management skills, which appear considerable: "Jonathan has been the Controller of a management group operating 11 franchise restaurants [Smithfield’s Chicken N’ Bar-B-Q] since 2016. He successfully managed the business during times of prosperity and [through] difficult COVID-era shutdowns and recovery."

Also, incidentally, an anti-vaxxer. Anti-abortion, check. His adorable twin boys have "learning disabilities," so Almond pledges to maintain funding for special ed programs. Quotes Mark Robinson approvingly on how corrupted school curriculum has turned normal children into DEI and CRT robots. On his website, he's very prominently photographed with an AK WTF cradled in his arms.

His Twitter feed is his real index: It's all Trump or Trump branded shit, with some Mark Robinson thrown in. Say no more.