Christian Cano Takes Off the Gloves

Democrat Dan McCready, who is running in the NC 9th congressional district (incumbent Republican -- Robert Pittenger), has been a kind of phenomenon this year, gaining national attention and outraising most other Democrats -- and Republicans -- in North Carolina. I've written about him here -- favorably -- more than once. I've also criticized his lack of policy positions, the curious fly-weight vagueness of his campaign so far.

Christian Cano
(But what's with the hat?)

This morning his Democratic primary opponent, Christian Cano, goes after him hard in a campaign email:

As many of y’all have heard by now, our NC09 Democratic challenger, Dan McCready, pulled a Robert Pittenger and cowards out of one of our TV Debates so he won’t have to answer our real-world issues facing our working-class and struggling neighbors (again).

We've come to expect this from cowardly Robert Pittenger. As our 2016 NC 9th Congressional District Democratic Nominee he only showed up for one of our scheduled debates after the tremendous backlash from making his racist and bigoted statements about our Charlotte protesters.

But we didn't expect a so called “brave former Marine” who has spent an entire year trying to convince our Democratic base and our NC 9th Congressional District that his South Charlotte privileged, and elitist class rich kid entitlement was not true.

Let me be clear. Dan McCready is a political coward and a political opportunist of the worst kind. We shared this when we first discovered his collusion with #NancyPelosi and her political cronies and we continue to see it arrogantly on display even now just days before early voting starts.

Dan McCready can't hide forever. He will be forced to answer to our Democratic base and our Democratic values one way or another before early voting starts on April 19, 2018 for our #NCDP Democratic primary election May 08, 2018.

Rest assured, if our Democratic base must camp outside his South Charlotte house, we will force him to answer where he stands on the real-world issues facing our rich culturally diverse working-class and struggling families.

McCready has been the front-runner in the primary, virtually since he announced his candidacy. For some people, Christian Cano is old news, the Democrat who lost to Pittenger in 2016. For some people, McCready looks like a sure winner, and it's kind of expected in American politics that if you're ahead you don't debate an opponent who's far behind.

But Cano's attack does give us pause when combined with McCready's obvious reluctance to state a platform on his website.

9th District Democratic Primary

Dan McCready
Photo Deborah
Triplett

The Charlotte Observer covers the developing Democratic primary to choose a candidate to take on Republican incumbent Robert Pittenger next year in the NC-9, and the newspaper either deliberately or inadvertently gives a big boost to a new Democratic challenger, Dan McCready, an Iraq war Marine veteran and business entrepreneur.

The Observer's photo of McCready at the head of the article doesn't hurt the man's chances and presents a palpable contrast to the older and far pastier incumbent.

Christian Cano
Photo John D. Simmons

Also running in that primary -- and really continuously running for the last two-and-a-half years -- is Christian Cano, who was on the ballot in 2016 against Pittenger but managed only 41.8 percent of the vote to Pittenger's 58.2 percent. He's trying again, and he's been a constant presence on social media since last fall.

Cano is also young but not as young as McCready and is as scrappy as any Marine.

Maria Collins Warren

The other announced candidate is Maria Collins Warren, an attorney in Robeson County who teaches constitutional law classes at UNC-Pembroke and UNC-Wilmington. She has experience as a prosecutor in the Wilmington district attorney's office.

According to the Observer, at least one more potential candidate is thinking about jumping into this race.

Primaries do not have to be acid baths, and we'll hope these guys stay positive about themselves and not negative about their opponents. Congressman Robert Pittenger is the target, and he offers plenty of pulpy wood to peck at.