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GOP taking aim at Shuler (NC)
The Hendersonville News ^ | March 28, 2007 | Pam Brice

Posted on 03/28/2007 3:22:37 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued

Patrick McHenry is the neighborly sort.

The Cherryville congressman was recently spotted west of his congressional district to see if he could talk state Sen. Tom Apodaca into challenging a former football star, Rep. Heath Shuler, who earned national recognition last year by beating Rep. Charles Taylor of Brevard.

Apodaca, a third-term state senator and rising star in Raleigh, is thinking about it. But McHenry hasn't stopped there. A member of the National Republican Congressional Committee executive board, he's taken it upon himself to find someone who can take back the congressional seat he believes Shuler won on a fluke.

It might even be Taylor, who has not ruled out a rematch.

Meanwhile, the national Republican Party, business groups and conservative activists have Shuler on a watch list that triggers hard-hitting press releases before, during and after any vote with potential to wound the freshman, who ran as a social and fiscal conservative, and a defender of "mountain values."

"It's going to be hard for him to keep his campaign promise of being a conservative," McHenry said.

It's not unusual for the political parties to start recruiting this early -- Democrats are working on their own target list as well -- but the intense scrutiny of Shuler's every move and the early hunt for a viable challenger demonstrates just how eager Republicans are to tackle him.

Their first obstacle, however, is Taylor, who served eight terms and enjoys mixed reviews from analysts and GOP insiders about the kind of candidate he would make. The millionaire banker looms large over the potential field, despite years of ethical questions that ultimately helped Shuler bring him down amid voter unrest over Republican lapses.

(Excerpt) Read more at hendersonvillenews.com ...


TOPICS: North Carolina; Campaign News; U.S. Congress
KEYWORDS: 2008
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To: California Patriot

"I'd need to know how typical the Senate district is of the congressional district, and whether he's known in the rest of the district. It's not only a Hispanic name, but a weird-sounding Hispanic name."



He represents Henderson County, which is a large county just south of the most populous county in the district Buncombe). I assume his senate district is quite typical of the CD, and in any event Congressman Patrick McHenry wants him to run, which is good enough for me. As for his surname, I'd say it's an Italian-sounding Spanish name, and I doubt voters will even know he's half Mexican (he's lived in NC practically his entire life, and his mother was of Scots-Irish descent), much less care about it.


21 posted on 03/29/2007 3:33:06 PM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (http://auh2orepublican.blogspot.com/)
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To: AuH2ORepublican

Well, you may be right. It's just that in running against an incumbent, we need every possible advantage.


22 posted on 03/29/2007 9:43:08 PM PDT by California Patriot ("That's not Charley the Tuna out there. It's Jaws." -- Richard Nixon)
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To: dfwgator

Worst NFL QB, EVER!


23 posted on 03/30/2007 10:52:37 AM PDT by Holicheese (I love shrimp and grits.)
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To: Holicheese

Close, but I think Ryan Leaf has that title locked down.


24 posted on 03/30/2007 1:04:40 PM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Championship U)
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To: dfwgator

Thats a toss up.
Ryan Leaf was a spectacular failure!


25 posted on 03/31/2007 6:42:24 AM PDT by Holicheese (I love shrimp and grits.)
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