The Primary Results In Context

There was a lot that happened last night. Numerous races were decided, some in unexpected ways. As I reported earlier today, there are four big races headed toward a run-off primary election on May 14.

McDowell/ Walker

One of these run-offs will pit Trump-endorsed Addison McDowell– an otherwise unknown entity– versus former Congressman Mark Walker. McDowell outpolled Walker by 2%, but there were several other candidates in the race. For those other candidates that were eliminated, it is hard to discern which run-off candidate their voters will support.

This was certainly an unexpected result. Walker prevailed in Guilford County– his stronghold– but that is only a small part of the new district. McDowell prevailed in the non-Guilford part of the district. I saw little advertising for this race, so it is unclear what drove voters’ behavior although Trump’s endorsement and Walker’s quasi-incumbency must have been factors. Commenters are invited to offer opinions as to how this we got this result.

NC State Treasurer

North Carolina has had an absolutely exemplary state treasurer– Dale Folwell. The Republican candidate to replace him will be Brad Briner– a candidate about whom the Daily Haymaker raised some red flags. It appears that a good thing is coming to an end.

Labor Commissioner

Luke Farley– a lawyer– prevailed over Jon Hardister.

Hardister had been part of the legislative leadership in the NC House and represented parts of our area for more than a decade. Farley had secured some favorable ratings or endorsements from certain conservative groups.

Governor

Mark Robinson’s resounding primary victory sets him up to oppose Josh Stein. (This might be the first time in history that a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant has not been among the major party nominees for governor in North Carolina.) Robinson obviously would be a significant improvement over Stein, but we will be learning more about him as the months (and perhaps as the years) unfold.

Cecil Brockman

Brockman is a bisexual Democrat incumbent who represents part of the Triad. During the recent past, he voted with Republicans in the NC House on a number of occasions. The socialists are infuriated with him because of this and threw their support behind a challenger. Brockman barely escaped getting unseated, by a margin of less than 100 votes.

John Blust Returning to NC House

Blust prevailed outright in his primary. I briefly spoke with him within the last month or so. He seems genuinely concerned about the direction of the Republican caucus in the NC House, and wants to improve upon their performance during recent years. The problem, of course, is that the caucus is loaded with moderates.

NC Turning Deeper Red?

The presidential primary in North Carolina revealed that Trump won by a 3:1 margin, and secured many more votes than Biden even though he had more substantive opposition. I wonder if that is a harbinger that the state is becoming more Republican. If so, he might carry Robinson into the Governor’s office.

Harris/ Edwards/ Moore

In the congressional contests, Southern Baptist pastor Mark Harris won his race.

And establishment Republicans Chuck Edwards and Tim Moore won their respective races. Moore is the most recent NC House Speaker who presided over a sharp leftward turn for the GOP caucus about which Blust is concerned, as noted above.

Jackson Nominee for Attorney General

Jeff Jackson won the socialist primary for Attorney General. He is the pretty-boy, Great White Hope in this race running for the democratic socialists. He will be running against Dan Bishop– a good man– and might prove to be a formidable opponent.

Michele Morrow Beats The Incumbent, Catherine Truitt

The conservative Morrow effectively unseats the establishment GOP Truitt, who has caved to the education establishment in Raleigh. The role of Superintendent of Public Instruction does not possess unilateral control of the public schools in our state. The state Board of Education and the county boards each have their own respective roles. However, this is still an unequivocal conservative win. The corrupt media is already painting Morrow as a right wing extremist. I have already seen at least a couple of articles that attempted to characterize her in this manner. Morrow will face the socialist Mo Green– the former Guilford County Superintendent of Education, who was constantly demanding more money for the schools.

NC State Auditor

Jack Clark will face Dave Boliek in the run-off. The Daily Haymaker has a warning about Boliek.