Money wins the day
Published June 9, 2016
Editorial by Greensboro News-Record, June 9, 2016.
In an otherwise quiet primary, money spoke loudly Tuesday. The biggest spender, The Club for Growth Action, was the most successful.
The Washington, D.C.,-based Super PAC spent $700,000 to defeat U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers in the 2nd District Republican primary. She was crushed by fellow Rep. George Holding, who moved in from the 13th District, 53 percent to 24 percent. Even an endorsement from Donald Trump couldn’t save Ellmers, who was not considered conservative enough by her opponents.
The Club for Growth Action also lifted little-known Ted Budd with nearly $500,000 in advertising in the 13th District Republican primary. Budd, who lives on a Davie County farm, was touted for owning a gun shop, being conservative and never having run for office before. He led a 17-candidate field with 20 percent of the vote, nearly double the support for state Rep. John Blust and Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning.
With low voter turnout, a crowded field and a new district, so much money could have a decisive impact for any candidate. So, who is Ted Budd? According to the Club for Growth Action, which made him a winner, he’s “a successful entrepreneur, a political outsider and ... the best economic conservative in the race.” Yet he has no public record by which to judge, unlike Blust, Henning and others.
Blust and Henning ran well ahead of Budd in Guilford County, where voters know them. But the best either of them could do in any of the district’s four other counties was Henning’s 7 percent in Davidson — and Budd won 29 percent of the vote there. Combined, Blust and Henning received 44 votes in Rowan County. That will not win a race in this congressional district.
Perhaps Bruce Davis, the apparent winner over Bob Isner in a close Democratic primary, can do better than Blust and Henning in November. He’s a former Guilford County commissioner who’s active in High Point economic development efforts. If Guilford County, the district’s population center, wants the seat, Democrats, Republicans and independents will have to support Davis. But Budd likely will have more money behind him, once again.
Money also favored Republican Rep. Mark Walker in the 6th District and Democratic Rep. Alma Adams in the 12th. Adams won easily even though her district was pulled from her native Guilford County and now is entirely contained without Mecklenburg County. She is in the process of moving to Charlotte, even though she’ll continue to represent her Greensboro constituents for the rest of this year.
In the only statewide race, Greensboro resident Bob Edmunds led three other candidates in a nonpartisan primary for a seat on the state Supreme Court. Edmunds, the two-term incumbent, and runner-up Michael Morgan will advance to the November ballot.
Edmunds was supported by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, GOP legislators and the Republican Party and appeared to hold a substantial spending advantage over Morgan, a Wake County Superior Court judge backed by the Democratic Party. Edmunds received 48 percent of the vote to 34 percent for Morgan.
The unusual primary, which drew an 8 percent turnout, was held because former congressional districts and a legislative scheme to switch to a retention election for Edmunds were overturned by the courts. We hope it’s the last of its kind.
