Democratic Primary in NC-03 (What's Up, Doc?)

Thomas Mills published something today that perked me up: "If 2026 becomes a big Democratic wave year, both NC-01 and NC-03 could be Democratic after the votes are counted." I've looked more at NC-01 because of the travails of Democrat Don Davis, trying to hang on to the seat that Republicans gerrymandered anew and at the behest of Donald Jethro Trump just to get rid of him. So I'm a little surprised to hear NC-03 mentioned so optimistically. Republican Greg Murphy's historically very safe seat, immediately next door to Don Davis's, had to become just a little less Republican in order to torture Davis. Mills is alert for surprises, like what just happened in a special election in Texas for a state senate seat. The Democrat beat the Republican there by 14 points, in a district that Trump won in '24 by 17 points. In Texas!

I felt called to educate myself a little about the Democrats running in the NC-03 March primary.

Raymond E. Smith Jr.

Raymond E. Smith Jr.

He's an impressive candidate on paper, a former member for two terms of the NC House representing Wayne and Sampson counties and a member at large of the Wayne County Board of Education. He likes to go by "Dr. Raymond E. Smith," displaying a degree he earned the hard way. He's proud to have earned actually three degrees from North Carolina HBCUs -- Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, a Masters in Public Administration, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership. Leadership and civic service runs in his family. His father was a Marine and served with distinction, and his mother was herself an 18-year veteran on the School Board. Raymond Jr. is a decorated Gulf War combat veteran, former military policeman, and a statewide transportation planner for the NCDOT. Among other impressive things.

He recently got a huge boost. The Congressional Black Caucus in DeeCee endorsed him, which means more than just money -- and the money ain't nothing to sneeze at -- for there's tactical support as well. “It means access to resources. It means that our base can be energized by the thought that they have a legitimate candidate in this race,” Smith said.

Smith filed to run on December 15, some two weeks after the opening of filing. Was he recruited by the Congressional Black Caucus?

I looked closely at his record and found a couple of things he doesn't go into on his website.

2018 -- 1st election to NCH-21, took 52.65% of the vote.

2020 -- reelection, took 53%.

2022 -- did not run for reelection to NCH-21 but elected to run for NCS-4 in the Democratic primary against incumbent Democratic Senator Toby Fitch. Fitch got 54.5%; Smith, 45.5%.

2023 -- ran for Mayor of Goldsboro and lost by six votes. That's the kind of loss that can actually energize and count as a kind of moral win.

Allison Jaslow

Beginning my research into Jaslow, I immediately encountered a very disturbing sentence in a press article (which I certainly hope is a misprint). This passage appeared in Reflector.com and prominently featured the Republican opinion that the Democrats are whistling Dixie if they think they can win NC-03, so I'm wary of a bias here:

Democrat Raymond Smith, a U.S. Army veteran and former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from Goldsboro, filed to seek the seat on Monday. Then on Thursday, the party fielded Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain and Iraq War veteran who touted her military background in an announcement. Jaslow currently has Cary and and Washington, D.C., addresses, but her campaign said she will relocate to District 3.

"The party fielded Allison Jaslow"? Holy crap. If that's true, then someone important considers Smith a loser (perhaps based on his last two outings? or who knows what else?), for Jaslow is pretty much a star in her own right, a combat veteran with two tours in Iraq, a chief of staff on Capitol Hill to a congresswoman, served in the Obama administration as part of the White House communications team, and is currently CEO and spokeswoman for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). She's been on CNN and MSNBC panels numerous times and handles herself well. The fact that she doesn't -- or didn't -- have a residence in NC-03 also strongly suggests some third-party recruitment. Dunno, but I'm suspicious.

Jaslow is clearly a ball of fire, an accomplished political operative, and extremely confident of herself. Whatever the outcome in less than a month, I'm going to be following up.