2010 Elections

Cross-posted from a Facing South article by Chris Kromm.

Nationally and especially in the South, government reform advocates view North Carolina as a trend-setter. Over the last decade, the state's "good government" groups have pushed through tough ethics legislation, same-day voter registration and a Voter Owned Elections program aimed at lessening the influence of private interests by offering candidates the option of using public funds to run their campaigns. But with Republicans now in control of the state legislature for the first time in over a century, NC conservatives -- already hostile to publicly-financed campaigns -- are ramping-up calls for abolishing the program, which now applies to select judicial and state offices.

I wish I was smart enough to have written this.

I'm not buying the autopsy or the obituary. In the national exit poll, voters were split on health care. Unemployment is at nearly 10 percent. Democrats lost a lot of seats that were never really theirs, and those who voted against the bill lost at a higher rate than did those who voted for it. But if health care did cost the party its majority, so what? The bill was more important than the election.

Click the bar for SBOE election results

This is Betsy.....Heath Shuler in trouble according to early vote totals. Very close for GK Butterfield and David Price....closer than I thought it would be. These are just early vote totals. Let's hope Dems came out in droves today.

Hey all,

Phones are ringing off the hook here at Democracy North Carolina, even with our toll-free Election Prootection Hotline going straight to the good folks at the UNC School of Law.

To report voter intimidation problems or any other problems causing people to walk away and not vote, please call 1-888-OUR-VOTE, which translates into 1-888-687-8683 for you cell phone users. Some examples of what we have dealt with so far today:

Gallop's poll out yesterday continues to tout their generic ballot where Republicans lead Democrats by 15 points. With some of the candidates Republicans are fielding, I'd leave names off too...especially in North Carolina where it appears the knuckle-draggers, mouth-foamers and head-spinners all lined up to run.

Our current crew of Republican congressional candidates is so far right of the average North Carolina voter it prompted Salon to include two of them in their list of the "10 most terrifying would-be congressmen." That's right, Renee Ellmers and Ilario Pantano from NC were selected as two of the ten most terrifying candidates running for congress.

Here's a handy link that takes you to a virtual postcard with info on how to find out about Early Voting sites in your county, how you can still register to vote, where you vote on election day, how to view your sample ballot and more. I'd appreciate you passing the link on to others via Facebook, email, etc. Email me if you want the html code for this.

As a bonus, our graphic gives you a break from all that red, white and blue!

http://www.democracy-nc.org/voteearly2010.html

We're turning up the heat on our GOTV here at Democracy North Carolina and we need your help with our virtual phone bank! We have phone lists of targeted voters (African-American senior citizens, college voters, etc.) who need a nudge to return to the polls in 2010 and we need your help phoning them with Early Voting and other information. Sign up on-line, we'll send you a list of about 40 names plus suggested scripts, and you can work from home or your office. And please help us spread the word by sending this opportunity to people you think might want to help! Thanks -- and Happy Voting in 2010.

Sign up on-line here: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6601/signup_page/phonebankingvolunteer

From the Raleigh News and Observer, Oct. 18, 2010:

"Paul Coble has been the most divisive person in Wake County for the past 25 years," Nichols said. "You can compare that to my history of consensus-building."

[Note to readers from Martha: Paul Coble, former Raleigh Mayor, is the nephew of former "Senator No" Jesse Helms (R-NC).]

But wait, Coble says, wasn't the unseen hand of then-party chairman Nichols behind a failed Democratic ploy in December, when Republican Tony Gurley emerged as chairman of the Board of Commissioners?

Coble alleges that Nichols was making mid-meeting cell-phone calls advising Democratic board members to pull parliamentary high jinks such as Betty Lou Ward's unexcused trip to the bathroom.

No way, Nichols says. Ward has also denied the charge.

Feel free to add a comment with an endorsement link or list. A little description about the race(s) or organization in the comment would be helpful.

According to the Jefferson Post:

Turnout is expected to be heavy for tonight’s forum with U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and her Democratic challenger Billy Kennedy, both from Watauga County. The forum takes place at Ashe Civic Center in West Jefferson beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Sponsored by the New River Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), the 90-minute forum is open to the public and will be moderated by three panelists: Lonnie Adamson, editor and general manager of the Jefferson Post, Ron Fitzwater, editor of the Ashe Mountain Times, and Scott Nicholson, senior political writer for the Watauga Democrat. Questions were invited to be sent in by the public.

The forum is expected to be broadcast live on radio station WMMY ‘My Country’ ‘Highway’ 106.1 FM broadcasting from Boone and serving the counties of Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Wilkes, Catawba and Caldwell.