Travis Crayton's blog

After posting a dismal take in fundraising last quarter, RealClearPolitics has moved Rep. Larry Kissell's 8th district from "Toss-up" to "Leans Republican."

Cross-posted from a post at Proverbially Penned.

Freshman congressman Larry Kissell has drawn his first official challenger in the form of Tim D'Annunzio, who, it appears, is also acting as a tea-party candidate within the GOP. D'Annunzio did a fantastic job, as CQ Politics reports, of garnering free media attention by holding fundraisers appealing to the crazier individuals among us. D'Annunzio decided a $25 a plate dinner of North Carolina barbeque and sweet tea just wasn't enough to get people excited about his campaign. So he decided to let his supporters come out, enjoy a good meal, and shoot an Uzi or an MP-5 submachine gun.

No, I'm not kidding; he seriously did this:

But wait! There's more. Not only is D'Annunzio running for Congress, he's also acting as if he is the savior of the GOP. More after the break...

News over at the News & Observer from yesterday shows that Elaine Marshall is seriously considering a Senate run against Richard Burr, and honestly, I believe Elaine Marshall is the best possible candidate to take down Burr in 2010.

I met Elaine Marshall at a Democratic event early last year, and let me tell you, she is like no other politician I know of....

More beyond the break.

There seems to be this idea that North Carolina is just like any other red state that voted for George W. Bush. Twice.

People outside North Carolina just see that our state's just another state in a sea of red. They don't know about the strong Democratic leadership our state has at the state level. They don't know that Governor Easley enjoys approval ratings that Elizabeth Dole could only dream of.

Rasmussen Reports has a new poll out, and if people in other states paid any attention to it, they'd realize that on the 2008 electoral map, North Carolina could show its one and only true color: Carolina Blue.

Frontpaged by Anglico.

Funny thing, I go to check the mail today, and it seems that Robin Hayes has sent out the first flier of his re-election bid. Even funnier, it seems he's claiming that he ACTUALLY cares about his constituents.

See the flier for yourself...

Hillary Clinton took the first step to run for President today announcing on her website with two words: "I'm in."

She finds herself the frontrunner (according to the latest Gallup Poll) among a growing field of Democratic competitors. I think it's important to remember, however, that at this time in the running for the 1992 Presidential Election, Bill Clinton was ranked eleventh, a spot currently held by Ohio congressman and outspoken critic of the war Dennis Kucinich.

Following bchriste80's mention of a call to the Hayes camp, I myself got sick of the lie-filled mailers when I checked my mail today to find yet another mailer alleging that Larry Kissell is running a negative campaign. So, I called the number found on Hayes' congressional website only to get redirected to the number found on his campaign website. After that was settled, I started with the mailer from today (as recalled to the best of my memory of the last thirty minutes):

Me: So, regarding today's flier, it says that Mr. Kissell was fined by the FEC, but what for exactly?

Staffer: For filing his campaign finances late.

Me: Is that something that I, as a voter, need to be concerned with?

Staffer: Ever since this campaign started, Mr. Kissell has had one responsibility and that was to file his finances on time.

Excuse, me but I thought that it was the duty of the candidate to inform the voters on their stances and why they deserve to be elected or re-elected. Apparently the Hayes camp doesn't get that since on Mr. Hayes' website, there are no positions on any issues to be found. This is in amazing contrast to Larry's website, which has plenty of positions on the issues.

More below the cut...