Who Got the NCGA Office That Rep. Ray Russell Was Evicted From?

That would be Rep. Jake Johnson, the newest (and now youngest) member of the NC House, appointed at the end of July to finish out the term of Rep. Cody Henson (previously the youngest member). Henson resigned his seat after admitting in court to cyber-stalking his estranged wife.

Jake Johnson is a pet of the Republican establishment, and we can see why. He's a rare bird, a talented millenial who's all in for the conservative brand. Johnson checks all the boxes: acidly pro-life, pugnaciously pro-NRA, and piously pro-family.

He's also politically accomplished: Ran for county commish of Polk County at the age of 19, lost but came back in two years to run again and win (highest vote-getter among commish candidates). It wasn't long before his fellow commissioners voted him chairman of the board, making him officially in Republican circles A Force To Be Reckoned With. He was the obvious choice to replace the other conservative millenial, the out of control Cody Henson, in the NC House -- that cow palace on Jones Street in Raleigh where the newest Republican wunderkind was going to need an office, which -- turned out -- was just coincidentally already occupied by Rep. Ray Russell, who also just coincidentally needed punishment for being a too uppity freshman legislator.

Jake Johnson claimed that he went to college (the year after he lost that first race for co commish) to get a degree in business administration but that Barack Obama in the White House was the straw that broke his business back. He switched to political science out of revenge for Obama and became an avowed partisan warrior against what America was becoming under a president who might have been -- probably was -- born in Kenya. I found on-line where he was scheduled to speak to the Asheville Tea Party back last January on the "steps we are going to have to take to get younger people into conservative politics." (I wish I'd heard that rap!)

Here's the passage in Johnson's biography that's almost forgotten: He says he served as "field director" for the successful congressional campaign of Mark Harris. That would be the Reverend Mark Harris, whose winning campaign against Democrat Dan McCready in November of 2018 was called back to be redone because of massive ballot fraud committed -- wait for it -- in the field operation.

Question: Did Jake Johnson know McCrae Dowless? Did he as Field Director know what McCrae Dowless was up to? And does his experience on the Mark Harris campaign still deserve prominent mention in his resume?

Republican Cody Henson Resigns His Seat in NC House

Background on Rep. Cody Henson from March, when he was merely under sheriff's investigation for cyberstalking his estranged wife, who had incidentally been granted an order of protection against Mr. Henson. His sudden resignation today, reported by Aditi Kharod:

Rep. Cody Henson (R-Transylvania) announced his resignation Wednesday morning, one day after he pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking, accepting a deal for 18 months of probation and deferred prosecution. 

Henson is already under a domestic violence order of protection preventing him from contacting his estranged wife, Kelsey Meece. As part of the deal, Henson will also have to get mental health treatment, domestic violence abuser treatment, and complete a substance misuse assessment. He will not have access to firearms for his probation period. 

At the time, the North Carolina Department of Justice accepted a condition of Henson’s: that he be allowed to leave the state for legislative business despite his probation. A prepared statement by Henson’s attorney stated that Henson intended “to fulfill his commitment to represent his district” and that he did not plan to resign his seat. 

Henson announced his resignation on his Facebook page.

Will Not Be Spending More Time With His Family

Republican NC House Rep. Cody Henson (District 113, Transylvania, Polk, and part of Henderson counties) announced that he will not seek reelection in 2020. He's currently in his second term, the youngest member of the NC House. He's also fighting serious allegations brought by his estranged wife who was granted a protective order against Henson last month. More recently, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s office issued a criminal summons in a cyberstalking complaint also filed by his wife. Two small children are involved in the drama.

Henson's wife said she feared for her life and the lives of her children. In the hearing for the protective order, she presented to the judge a binder of messages she had received from her husband.

Henson describes himself as a Christian conservative who's big on family values, but his wife is clearly afraid of him.