Because of lawsuits over redistributing, North Carolina is having a special primary today with only the House Members on the ballot. Here is the newly redrawn map – I live in the 9th district, but just barely.
Because this whole thing was motivated by the Voting Rights Act imposed on Southern states, the only racist part of the country (blacks are welcome to use our public pools!), this is all about race. Before the redraw, the city of Charlotte was split right along racial boundaries. The 9th was the white Southern half of the city combined with the far North whitelandia where the immigrants from New Jersey live. The 12th was the required “all black” district that was all of the west and northern black portion of the city and the black neighborhoods scattered along I-85 up to Greensboro.
The hopelessly liberal Charlotte Observer is particularly clueless. They are gleeful that the 9th is now 45% Democrat, so the Democrats might win in November. The immigrant refugees look forward to the New Democratic House member helping them in the LGBTQ quest for transgender locker rooms. They have never been outside the Charlotte bubble since they moved here from Seattle.
The only part of Charlotte still in the 9th is the very upscale Southpark Mall and the Quail Hollow Country Club. The bulk of the population is rural farmers. As you head toward the coastal plain, the population shifts to the descendants of the freed slaves from the Reconstruction era. They get by doing subsistence farming, growing things like peanuts. Very few of those 45% of Democrats are “progressives”. Local government here is still largely in the hands of Conservative Democrats. They register as Democrats for the local races but vote for Republicans for State and Nstional offices. They voted for Hillary, not Bernie. If Lyndon LeRouche was on the ballot, they would vote for him,
The 9th district extends all the way to Fayetteville (Home of Fort Bragg) and further.
There is no race for the Democratic Party. Their candidate is por-choice and pro-life.
The Republicans have three very different choices:
– the incumbent “city slicker” with establishment backing who no longer has the city in his district
– a Southern Baptist preacher from Charlotte
– an insurance business owner from Union County who is a volunteer for 4H, something the editorial board at the newspaper would not understand without searching Wikipedia
The Democrats are still fighting the redistricting in court. Almost nobody knows there is an election today. Because I voted for Bernie in the real primary, I have to vote Democratic in this election which is a waste of time, since there is only one person on the ballot.
Let the fun begin! I look forward to our new house member demanding that Chrlotte allows hunting inside the city limits.
The 12th district is more interesting. It is now just the “Charlotte” District. It is now significantly more white and Republican. While the district is still majority Democrat, the lower turnout of Democrats could wind up electing a white Republican for this “blacks only” district
https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina%27s_12th_Congressional_District_election,_2016
There are six Democratic candidates competing against a very weak incumbent from Greensboro – 5 of the 6 are black. Tricia Cothan is a white woman (as far as I can tell) who is part of the education establishment in state government. With few people knowing about the election and the black vote split five ways, she has a good chance. I’m not positive, but if she doesn’t get 50%, there might have to be yet another election. Alma will probably finish first or second. She has the national backing. There are three Republicans.
Rereading the ballotpedia article, the Federal appeals court upheld the new maps 5 days ago, and the legislature eliminated primary runoffs. Given the clout of the education establishment to organize and turn out the vote, it is quite likely the “minority” district will have a White Woman in Congress – hey, she is a “minority!”
Alma Adams, the Obama pick for the 12th district won with 42% of the vote with about 12,000 votes, with less than 10% turnout.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article82368082.html
http://abc11.com/politics/elections/local/
In the 9th, the “City Slicker” win by 142 votes over the Baptist minister, who is already requesting a recount.
Politics is a blood sport these days. Good luck to the “city slicker”.
Sam, my next door neighbor from Mississippi, met him in person at his daughter’s house. Sam pushed him on whether he would compromise on principles when he voted. Sam did not like his answer