An Historic Election for the North Carolina State Legislature

It appears that Republicans have won control of both the North Carolina Senate and the North Carolina House.  This has been an historic night.  It has been more than a century since Republicans controlled the state senate.

Locally, my friend Bert Jones defeated Nelson Cole handily.  Bert ran as an independent, and that turned out to be a shrewd move; but he will be caucusing with the Republicans.  This is one of the relatively small number of seats that will have been taken from the Democrats in the state House.  The folks in Raleigh are astonished at this particular race. 

Jones ran a great campaign, and had previously shared with me that he was confident about the numbers as he saw them.  But what makes his victory even more impressive is the fact that voters had to go out of their way to support him.  He would not benefit from straight party votes; so voters had to be instructed to make sure they voted for him specifically.

I was saddened to see the outcome of the races run by Theresa Yon, Jon Hardister, Jeff Hyde and Trudy Wade.  They all worked very hard, and made us all very proud of them.  Each was running in districts tailor-made for Democratic incumbents.  And the margins of defeat oft tended to be much less than the actual Republican registration disadvantage.  There were some fairly tight races. 

But these four Guilford County candidates were a huge part of the statewide effort to win the House and Senate.  Why?  Because they forced well-funded opponents like Don Vaughan, Maggie Jeffus and Pricey Harrison to spend their money in Guilford County.  These Guilford County incumbents could not share their excess funds with the state Democratic party to help other candidates for the state legislature as much as they otherwise might have been able to do.

In each of these Guilford County races, the better person did  not win.  Guilford County happens to be very difficult terrain for Republicans and conservatives.  And these four candidates have nothing of which to be ashamed.

But now Republicans in the state legislature face some daunting tasks.  They have to figure out how to close a multi-billion dollar deficit created by Democrats.  They have to learn how to manage their relationship with Governor Perdue, and how to handle public relations.  The media will make them out to be ogres, so they must be prepared to manage, shape and deliver their message to the people of the state effectively.  They need to win the public over by doing the right things, and by winning the public relations war that is sure to come.

There was much talk tonight at Republican headquarters about the need for more sensible redistricting that makes races more competitive-- instead of gerrymandering lopsided districts to protect incumbents.  (Of course, incumbents themselves tend to favor the latter approach).

Personally, I think the county party should now initiate a massive voter registration effort on the heels of the massive Republican tide we saw tonight around the state and nation.  We need many more registered Republicans in Guilford County; and now is the time to make that happen.  All the positive energy and enthusiasm needs to be channeled to bolster local Republican registration figures.  That will also help make all the districts in which candidates run less one-sided. 

In any case, many congratulations to Bert Jones in Rockingham County for his stunning victory.  Many thanks to Theresa, Jon, Jeff and Trudy for all they did.  And congratulations to Republicans statewide for making history tonight.

 

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

Hear, hear !

Bravo, Joe.

[michele]

Quite an historic night, indeed! My son went off to school this morning in high spirits, and there's a general mood of jubilance around our home today. Fingers crossed ... ;)

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

Yes, Bravo, Joe. Some very wise Brits once said, "You can't always get what you want". But I can see 2012 from my house.

In terms of state leadership, it CANNOT be business-as-usual:

http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/2010/10/mistaspeaka-harold-brubaker-r-nc-house.html

[cheripickr]

With all the suspicions and accusations about vote tampering, voter fraud, etc, did it strike anyone else as odd that you were required to show no ID whatsoever to vote? From what I could tell, the only "ID" required was that you know the address of the person you claim to be. Even after that single test, they showed me the "answer" and allowed me to change anything that was incorrect. What's the purpose in issuing a voter registration card if you never have to use it?

[Joseph Guarino]

Thanks, Fred. To illustrate what happened with this election, I spoke with Jon Hardister last night, and he indicated to me that the registration disadvantage in his district (according to my memory) was 59% Democrat to 28% Republican. Yet he lost by only a couple of percentage points. There were some valiant efforts in Guilford County, but the real prize is the overall outcome in Raleigh and in Washington.

Mike Huckabee said this morning that it has been since 1870 that Republicans controlled both houses of the state legislature in North Carolina!

[Enough]

Joe, lets hope the Repubs don't squander this opportunity in Raleigh. What are they going to do now that they have a majority?

[Joseph Guarino]

Yes, Michele, a great night.

Mary, you are right. The Republicans in Raleigh need to manage this very well, or the media will crucify them as quickly as they can. They need to do their homework, fulfill their 10-point plan, pass some good bills, eliminate the deficit, and cut taxes. No small order. They would be well advised to consult with and colloborate with the policy experts at the John Locke Foundation and Civitas as they make their plans.

Cheri, it has been a huge part of the Democratic agenda nationwide to assure that as many illegitimate votes can occur as possible. That is why there is no voter ID required.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

Yeah, Enough. God help us if the Republicans in Raleigh act like Obama/Pelosi/Reid when they got a little power:

"But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it . . . "

[Joseph Guarino]

Enough, that is the big test-- what they are going to do with this majority. See my previous comment. They could also do whatever is needed to defang Obamacare at the state level. But fulfilling the 10-point plan would be a great start.

I would also like some pro-life, pro-family legislation pass. More about that later.

[bubba]

Most of the voters elsewhere in NC stepped up and threw the Corruptocrat bums out statewide. In Guilford County, the Business As Usual/Corruptocrat/Statist coalition managed to save the day for Don Vaughan, Maggie Jeffus and Pricey Harrison though. Expect more of the same poor representation for us to suffer through, and little to change from these people, who will remain part of the problem, and not part of the solution for two more years.

One major positive consequence: Corruptocrats will not be able to Federal HR re-districting, like they did a number of years ago, when Brad Miller gerrymandered a safe district for himself. Based on the ability to correct that redistricting inequity, the strong showing by Bill Randall, and the expected ongoing obtuseness of the Obamanation to the message sent yesterday, I think there's a great chance we can remove Miller and his insidious presence from the political scene. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about Mel Watt, however. The Holder Department of Thuggery would never allow that sort of thing to happen.

[bubba]

"Joe, lets hope the Repubs don't squander this opportunity in Raleigh."

Absolutely.

Let's see who gets appointed to key leadership positions. It's my hope that John Blust plays an important part in the House.

[Joseph Guarino]

Bubba, I tend to agree. It would be great if John Blust could play a greater role.

The Democrats in Guilford County apparently did a fairly good job with their turn-out yesterday. I was hearing from a couple of the press people that they perceived that the Dems had turned out at the polls locally. It was not like many parts of the country where turnout was best in the 'burbs and rural areas.

[Stormy]

After this election, the South is solid again...at least solid Republican and conservative for the most part. It should be noted that even with Republicans taking control of the state legislature as noted, North Carolina is now the most "liberal" state in the South. Virginia which went fairly Democrat as recently as 2008, has now reversed itself and is not solid Republican. North Carolina stands out in the South as being split between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats in the cities and Republicans in the rural areas.

[Joseph Guarino]

Yes, Stormy, in the North Carolina congressional races, our state's citizens took leave of their senses two years ago, and still apparently have not regained them.:)

This remains a mostly liberal Democratic state. Last night was an aberration.

[Steve Harrison]

Congratulations, folks. I can't say that I'm happy about the results, or all the money that was spent to achieve them, but everybody deserves the right to feel like they can win. From time to time. :)

[cheripickr]

Steve, I would reach across the aisle to you any day (albeit probably with one of those palm buzzers in my hand).

[Steve Harrison]

Thanks, doc. Just make sure you're up to date on your CPR, if you don't mind. ;)