endorsements

From a telephone Interview with Michele Miller Houck, President of the North Carolina Women’s Political Caucus:

With Election Day coming in just over a week, Michele Miller Houck of Charlotte and I talked on Sunday. Houck has been working to rebuild the North Carolina Women’s Political Caucus (NCWPC ) as a state-wide bi-partisan group that supports pro-choice women for political office.

The Caucus has been focused on only a few Legislative races this year, but it also endorsed Secretary of State Elaine Marshall for the U. S. Senate. Marshall is challenging the Republican incumbent Senator Richard Burr of Winston-Salem. Marshall is also endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus.

Having gotten his start over 25 years ago as a lobbyist for Right to Life groups in NC, Stam still spends an inordinate amount of his time dealing with any issue related to abortion-state or local.

Debra McHenry (D) of Garner, Stam’s opponent in the House race, was contacted for her take on this endorsement. She replied via an email:

I have received email from her campaign and others on Facebook but if you did not hear and don't live in Raleigh go to the Editorial Page for the News and Observer's Endorsement of Elaine Marshall for the U. S. Senate.

I know there is an "endorsements" thread going. But this news deserves a little more attention than a general endorsement.

Elaine Marshall's life is in many ways a mirror, many mirrors, of the lives of the people of North Carolina. It is a life marked if not defined by adversity. But it has been adversity overcome, and it's no overstatement to say that it very well could be a life inspiring to others.

Elaine Marshall won the endorsement of twelve current and former black legislators as the Black Legislative Caucus gathers for the 24th annual Black Legislative Caucus Foundation Education Scholarship weekend. Full list below.

“It is inspiring to see leaders from across the state coming together behind our campaign. It is time for Democrats to unite, and that is what’s happening here."

-- Elaine Marshall

The influential leaders provide another boost to Elaine's campaign as thousands of North Carolina Democrats are uniting around her. These endorsement also come on the heels of other major African American announcements such as Civil Rights Leader Julius Chambers, Former Congresswoman Eva Clayton, and former U.S. Senate candidate Ken Lewis; Lewis is now Elaine's campaign chairman.

Full list of endorsements:

Big time endorsement in the North Carolina Senate race for Elaine Marshall as Eva Clayton is both one of the most respected Democrats in the state and the first major backer of Ken Lewis to pick a side. In a statement released today, former Congresswoman Eva Clayton called Elaine a "fighter" saying...

"Elaine Marshall has built a career standing up for people," said Clayton. "Over and over, she's taken on powerful interests against long odds and won. That's the type of fighter North Carolina needs to represent us in Washington today."

Everyone seems to know we endorsed Cal Cunningham, but you should also know we endorsed in a number of competitive General Assembly primaries too. This week we're mailing fliers and hosting phone banks to help support these candidates, below are all of our endorsements.

US Senate(Dem):

Cal Cunningham

US House (Dem):

Heath Shuler (dist.11)

NC Senate (Dem):

Malcolm Graham (dist.40-Mecklenburg)

Doug Berger (dist.7-Wake)

Linda Garrou (dist.32-Forsyth)

NC House (Dem):
Patsy Keever (dist.115-Buncombe)

Phil Haire (dist.119-Western NC)

Beverly Earle (dist.101-Mecklenburg)

Becky Carney (dist.102-Mecklenburg)

Rick Glazier (dist.45-Cumberland)

Important win for Elaine Marshall this morning in the Charlotte Observer. Not only is it an example of the campaign's growing momentum, but it's a remarkable endorsement that sums up the race perfectly.

Here are some excerpts:

We believe Elaine Marshall best combines the experience, achievement, temperament and intellect to make a promising U.S. Senator.

Marshall's story is one of an underdog who has made good. Marshall became the first woman elected statewide to executive office in North Carolina in 1996, when she defeated NASCAR legend Richard Petty in a race for secretary of state. She has won re-election three times since and is the only one of this bunch to have won statewide. In 2008, she won more votes in a contested race than anyone but Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Over the past few days the US Senate campaigns have put out a number of endorsements. But I wanted to make sure that everyone knew about two that are near and dear to my heart. This week Cal gained the endorsements of two organizations that represent almost 80,000 North Carolina voters.

January 31, 2009

The meeting started with several NC Democratic Party candidates making a pitch to the group and fielding questions. David Young, who is running to be state chair, was questioned about the possibility of Shuler running for US Senate. Mr. Young did not think that was going to happen. Mr. Young said that he supports collective bargaining for state employees as it is part of the NC Democratic Party platform. He also said that he would do a nation-wide search for executive director and that the treasurer would post finances of the party on line.

Kevin Smith is running for 3rd Vice Chair. He wants to focus on transparency in the party operations, especially in financial operations. He proposed putting the budget on line (making it password protected) and asking for input. He wants to see the Party HQs in every rural county, and he supports Delmus Parker’s principles.

My speech for Saturday, and what's up with David Parker??/