The news flashed yesterday morning while I was on the road to Virginia: WFAE reporter Steve Harrison got
the scoop that Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry will be challenging Jeff Jackson in the Democratic primary for Attorney General. That's surprising enough. Also surprising were the swipes that Deberry took at Jackson in her exclusive interview with Harrison. She sounded oddly petty and jealous. Among other things she told Harrison:
“We don’t want people to think that there is not a choice in this race, that there is not somebody who is qualified, who is experienced, who is a prosecutor who has run a large office and who has the courage to do the job,” she said. “And I don’t think there is a candidate now who has any of that.”
None of that? Not even "courage to do the job"? (And for the record: Jeff Jackson is also an experienced ex-prosecutor. He worked as an assistant D.A. in Gaston County and he currently serves in the Judge Advocate General's Corps with the Army National Guard.)
“I don’t concede he has more name recognition,” she said. “I can raise money. And I think there are people out there who want to see a ticket with an attorney general who knows what they are doing. Someone who is a serious lawyer. I’m a serious lawyer and a serious person — not a national social media following.”
Ah! There it is: "national social media following." That's the negative (and petty jealous) rap on Jackson, that he uses social media to communicate, that he's too visible, too plainly spoken, wows too many followers. Oddly enough, that's the attack line also favored by the Republican candidate for A.G., Dan Bishop, and that's a club a Democrat might not want to belong to.
Soon after reporter Harrison tweeted out his scoop, Sen. Graig Meyer, a fellow Democrat who served with Jackson in the NC Senate, endorsed Deberry:
Satana Deberry is instantly the most qualified person in this race. Attorney General is position that should not be a consolation prize, nor should any race be a coronation. North Carolina needs candidates of substance with clear values and a bold vision. She has my full support.
Other comments on Harrison's post were not so complimentary of Deberry:
I wonder if she was planning to run for quite some time and is angry that he has jumped in? Seems kind of harsh
God forbid our candidates have a social media following and get young potential voters engaged
Well, I was all in for before, but if I'd HAD any doubts this would have tipped me over 100%. I'm going to go donate to his campaign right now. So she’s not a good communicator? Good to know
