Stith eyes run for Lt. governor (NC}

The Herald-Sun (Durham) ^ | March 8, 2004 | The Herald-Sun

[JohnnyZ]

Durham City Councilman Thomas Stith edged closer to becoming a candidate for lieutenant governor Monday when he established a campaign committee for the office, he said.

Stith, who is serving his third term on the council, has said he's considering running for the Republican nomination. He probably will make an official announcement within a couple of weeks, he added.

"I guess that puts us one step closer," he said of the newly formed committee, which is a necessary precursor for raising or spending money for a campaign.

Stith also said he has been reaching out to Republican leaders across the state, and that the feedback has been "encouraging."

[JohnnyZ]

PING

North Carolina Republicans may run another black candidate statewide this year. He'll have a busy primary, so we'll see how it goes.

In 2000, black state senator Henry McKoy lost 55-45 to Democrat golden boy Richard Moore. McKoy did not have a primary.

[mhking]

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[JohnnyZ]

Thanks! More about Stith below.

[JohnnyZ]

Stith was endorsed by the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People his first two elections, then dumped in the 2003 primary for a white liberal, though he made the nonpartisan runoff anyway. He then packed the DCABP (??) with his supporters and managed to garner the general election endorsement, in spite of the wishes of the Democrat Party power brokers, and squeaked out a win for a third term.

He has been a strong pro-growth and anti-tax advocate on the council.

[AuH2ORepublican]

According to Politics1.com, ex-state representatives Jim Snyder and Bill Boyd have already declared their candidacy for Lt. Governor. Would Stith be able to compete against them?

Durham County forms a large part of the 4th Congressional District, which has been held by David Price almost continuously since 1987, with the only exception being the two-year period following the 1994 election, in which a former NYC cop whose name I forget pulled off one of the biggest Republican upsets of the year (but unfortunately lost the rematch in 1996). While the district is considered by most to be inhospitable to Republicans, since it includes the liberal college town of Chapel Hill and heavily-black Durham, it also includes heavily GOP suburbs and Bush actually got 47.2% of the vote in 2000. Since the percentage of voters in the district is around 20%, a GOP candidate who can get as little as 25% of the black vote (as opposed to the usual 10%) while retaining the remainder of the Bush vote would win the election.

That being said, do you think Stith could beat Price if he ran for Congress instead of for Lt. Gov.? Of course, he could always run for Lt. Gov. and, if he loses, run for Congress in 2006, but (i) he would have been out of the Durham city council for 2 years if he waits until 2006 to run for Congress (I assume he won't be able to stay on the council if he runs for Lt. Gov.), (ii) he would probably have to run more to the right of his current stances in the Lt. Gov. race, which could hurt him in a congressional district that gave a majority to Gore, and (iii) he could be labeled a "carpetbagger," not because of geography, but because the race for Congress was obviously his second choice. But whether it's in 2004 or 2006, I think Stith is our best bet to win the seat and hold it until the next redistricting.