Nov 05 2008
Election Night Recap
So Election 2008 is now over and your friendly admin of CPO can slack off for a little while now. We saw some big changes last night around the country and also right here in the Carolinas.
North Carolina has turned blue. By a fraction of a hair it went to Obama last night. He earned it. His campaign had the ground game to make it happen.
Kay Hagan predictably ousted Elizabeth Dole by a handy margin. Dole got slaughtered with outside 527 ads and I think the “Godless” ad she ran against Hagan sealed her fate.
One Congressional seat changed hands and that was the 8th Congressional District held by Republican Robin Hayes. This was expected to happen, but I was hoping Hayes would pull it out only because I think Larry Kissell is the wrong man for that seat. His energy policies are an infantile fantasy that will hurt his constituents which are mostly low income. Virginia Foxx, Heath Shuler, and Patrick McHenry easily won reelection.
In statewide races, Bev Perdue (D) narrowly defeated Pat McCrory (R) for the gubernatorial race. This made me very angry. It could not have been more obvious who the candidate of change was in this race. Bev Perdue will continue the same status quo culture of corruption that has plagued Raleigh for years. I think straight party voting caused this victory. Likewise, State Senator Walter Dalton (D) defeated State Senator Robert Pittenger (R) in the Lieutenant Governor’s race by a slightly larger margin.
Democrat Beth Wood defeated Republican incumbent Les Merritt in the Auditor’s race which is another blow to the state. Merritt was the only firewall defending the people from the corruption in the state legislature and now that is gone. Roy Cooper (D), Steve Troxler (R), Cherie Berry (R), Elaine Marshall (D), and June Atkinson (D) all got reelected to their posts. State Senator Janet Cowell (D) is now the new State Treasurer and Democrat Wayne Goodwin won the Insurance Commissioner’s race.
The Republican Party in North Carolina is extremely incompetent.
In the State Legislature Debbie Ann Clary won the race in Senate District 46 flipping that from Democrat to Republican. In State House District 86 Republican Hugh Blackwell defeated Democratic incumbent Walter Church and in State House District 90 Republican Sarah Stevens ousted incumbent Democrat Jim Harrell.
South Carolina gave our electoral votes to John McCain last night and we were the only Atlantic coast state to do so. Lindsey Graham easily won reelection to the U.S. Senate. All six Congressmen won reelections to their seats as well.
In the state legislature there weren’t many changes. Republican Kris Crawford did win reelection in House District 63. I said last night that he lost. Anton Gunn picked up House District 79 for the Democrats. The District 115 race between Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough and Democrat Anne Peterson Hutto is too close to call at this time, althought Scarborough has claimed victory.
The ballot amendment to change the Constitution to allow the state legislature to set the age of consent passed.
Tara Servatius reported the other day what she said was an ‘open secret,’ that McCrory won’t run for re-election as mayor and is done with politics. Apparently this was a promise Pat had made to his wife when talking over whether to run for governor.
That’s a shame for North Carolina and Charlotte. McCrory isn’t my idea of the perfect Republican but he’s better than the Democrats by leaps and bounds, and without him they’re all we’ll be getting.
Another shame is that Pat was the victim of a bad year for the GOP and his loss is not his fault. Any other year and he would have thrashed Perdue.
And while I love SC’s GOP ways, Lindsey Graham is clearly a part of the problem that has hurt the party, and I was hoping that Conley would make him sweat a little in order to send him a message.
What I said on the other post about the Meck GOP blowing an opportunity to create a narrative, goes triple for the state party. With all the crooks in the NCDP, you’d think they could have made something out of it.
“Dole got slaughtered with outside 527 ads and I think the “Godless” ad she ran against Hagan sealed her fate.”
It’s the false narrative about the ad, created by Hagan and accepted and parroted uncritically by the media (and more than a few conservatives) and not the ad itself. There was no questioning of Hagan’s faith in the ads that I saw/heard.
“the only Atlantic coast state to do so.”
You forgot Georgia.