Earlier this week, Conservatives for Guilford County (C4GC) announced its endorsement of Mark Walker for the congressional seat being vacated by Howard Coble.
The organization had to choose from among several conservatives running for the GOP nomination. Walker had the edge because of several factors. He convinced the team of his steadfast commitment to conservative principles. He interviewed well. It was felt that his early start getting organized; the strength of his organization; his careful preparation for the race; and his fundraising all demonstrated his viability as a candidate.
He was felt to be an appealing, likable candidate who communicates very well. His victory in the straw poll the night of our forum was also probably a factor in his endorsement-- but not the only factor, by any means. Our vetting process includes a questionnaire, interview, and research on the candidate.
I was not part of the committee that made the recommendation to endorse Walker. In fact, C4GC has a policy that requires anyone with a conflict of interest to recuse themselves. Because the organization has a few members, like myself, who attend Lawndale Baptist Church, it was agreed that "Lawndale people" should not have input into the congressional endorsement, or vote on this particular race. We wanted to avoid even the appearance of a confict. And in spite of that, Walker still got the endorsement.
Another point should be made. It was reported in the media that one or more candidates were not invited to participate in our process. That is completely untrue. I am told that every declared candidate was contacted on at least two occasions. Unfortunately, some campaigns and candidates are not terribly organized from the standpoint of reviewing and responding to communications received.
Matheny elected not to participate. Mike Causey's candidacy was not felt to be viable. Dan Collison was apparently the least conservative of the candidates who fully participated in the process.
Don Webb from High Point is a substantive candidate who is a worthy competitor to Mark Walker.
Bruce vonCannon is a lifelong Democrat who switched parties at the 11th hour to run for Congress as a Republican. He is essentially running a content-free campaign; and repeatedly complains about our broken national politics. What does that mean in terms of the policies he would advocate? No one seems to know. His deep pockets have purchased him lots of air time on TV and radio. But the C4GC committee could not be convinced that he is a committed, steadfast conservative.
Phil Berger Jr. unfortunately opted not to participate in our vetting process.
It should be noted that Mark Walker nearly always is identified in the media as a Lawndale Baptist worship/music minister. (He had planned months ago to resign from that position to run for office full-time.) The media, however, seemingly never notes his previous career in business. Walker has a business background that will serve him well in the event he is elected.
In any case, I wish to emphasize that every candidate had the opportunity to participate in this process. And C4GC went to great lengths to assure that it would be conducted in an objective, impartial manner.
As in the US Senate race, there are already too many candidates running. I hope all current and prospective candidates will consider whether their candidacy is truly viable; and whether their presence in the primary race could help lead to a liberal/moderate candidate like Matheny getting nominated by dividing up the conservative vote.
It takes a lot of resources and organization to run effectively in 10 counties.
In any event, congratulations to Mark Walker for securing the C4GC endorsement.
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