Posted on 10/20/2002 6:28:29 AM PDT by BlackRazor
Jobs central to 8th District race
By Andrew Barksdale
Staff writer
Chris Kouri, the Democratic nominee for the 8th Congressional District, is hammering at Rep. Robin Hayes' record on jobs and trade.
Hayes, a Republican who wants a third term, has begun airing two television commercials promoting his work to bring more jobs to North Carolina and protect the textile industry.
Challengers in races across the country are blaming incumbents for the poor economy. It's no different in the 8th District, which extends from Fayetteville to Charlotte. The region has lost thousands of jobs, mostly in textiles, in recent years as some corporations have gone overseas to find cheaper labor.
The economy is on a lot of people's minds.
Three students asked Hayes about it Friday when he visited Anson County High School in Wadesboro.
''What are you going to do about all the immigrants coming over here and taking our jobs?'' asked Scott Martin, a ninth-grader.
Hayes said the United States should stop illegal immigration and reduce taxes to stimulate the economy. ''If we grow our economy, we obviously would have more jobs than we can fill,'' he said.
At a recent football game in Fayetteville, Mike Porter pulled Kouri aside and talked to him about the layoffs Scotland County has experienced in the past few years. Porter is 41 and owns a professional cleaning service company based in Laurinburg.
Porter later said that Hayes and Kouri have similar messages for improving the economy, but he wants to learn more. Porter is a Democrat who has voted for Hayes twice but has not decided who he will support Nov. 5.
''It's enough to make you want to look at somebody else's point of view and see how they would resolve or attack those issues,'' Porter said.
A poll taken Thursday for Hayes showed him leading Kouri 53 percent to 31 percent. Mark A. Johnson, the Libertarian nominee, received 2 percent. Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican pollster in Alexandria, Va., said the poll had an error margin of about 5 percent.
Survey says
A survey taken by Democrats last month showed Hayes leading Kouri 48 percent to 36 percent. Johnson was not mentioned in that survey.
Kouri spokesman Paul Blank said the poll offered encouraging news for Kouri. Blank said Hayes should have a bigger lead considering Hayes has spent $1.9 million this year on his re-election bid.
Kouri has spent $250,000, including money spent on the September primary.
Hayes is getting other support. Last week, the National Republican Congressional Committee began airing the first negative TV ad in the 8th District race. The Republicans and Democrats are focusing on the district and other races that they consider competitive in a battle for control of Congress.
The Republican ad says Kouri owns stock in pharmaceutical companies while calling drug costs outrageously high. ''What is Chris Kouri doing to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs?'' the ad asks. ''Good question. Call Chris Kouri and tell him to stop saying one thing and doing another.''
Hayes and Kouri have sparred over how to help people afford the rising costs of prescription medicine. Each contends that the other's prescription drug plan is flawed. All three candidates have debated twice, once in Concord and again in Charlotte last week.
Kouri said he owns about $2,000 in pharmaceutical stock. He said the pharmaceutical industry backed the drug plan that the Republican-led House passed this summer.
''That should tell you that the plan doesn't go far enough in lowering costs and guaranteeing everybody is covered,'' Kouri said.
Hayes voted for the $350 billion drug plan, which would extend Medicare benefits to older people and require most of them to pay deductibles and monthly premiums for prescription medicine.
Kouri said that plan doesn't go far enough. He said he wants to close patent loopholes and bring cheaper generic drugs to market faster.
Hayes' chief of staff, Andrew Duke, said the House bill includes provisions aimed at lowering drug costs. He said the Democratic-controlled Senate has passed no prescription drug plan.
The Kouri camp says that Hayes had an opportunity to debate the issue on Oct. 2 when House Democrats tried to bypass a committee's recommendation not to discuss the matter. Hayes voted with the majority not to send the issue to the House floor.
Kouri, who passes out fliers that say ''It's about jobs!,'' has not decided whether he will run any television commercials. He has produced radio commercials, including one that accuses Hayes of voting to send jobs overseas. Kouri's goals include investing in worker retraining; offering tax incentives to businesses willing to move to rural, poor areas; and providing low-interest loans for development.
Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, said economic development is the responsibility of the private sector. He said government should protect freedom, including for trade, so businesses can thrive.
Democrats believe that Hayes' vote in December to give President Bush broad trading authority will hurt the state. Kouri mentions the vote wherever he goes.
''It highlights that he is not standing with the people in the district,'' Kouri said.
Hayes later voted against a final version of the bill to give Bush fast-track trading authority. He said he initially sided with the White House to win some provisions helpful to the U.S. textile industry. One is the requirement that knit and woven fabrics be dyed and finished domestically.
Pro-textile votes
Hayes, a textile mill owner, said he has voted against every trade bill that would harm textiles. The problem, he said, is that Congress does not have enough pro-textile votes.
The American Textile Industry for Good Government, which is a political action committee, has given money this year to Hayes but not Kouri.
Marc Siegel, spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said the fact that Hayes made the TV ads about the economy suggests his lead is slipping.
''It shows that he realizes that it is a real weakness and that it's something that people are upset about,'' Siegel said.
Hayes said he produced the ads to tell ''everybody what I'm doing to increase jobs in North Carolina. That record speaks for itself. I don't need to answer his charges.''
That record includes supporting legislation this year that offers incentives for new equipment or business expansion, extending unemployment benefits coverage and raising the spending on job retraining for workers hurt by trade deals. Last month, Hayes announced two grants totaling more than $1 million that will increase Internet access in the district and pay for an economic development study.
Johnson, meanwhile, is running a quiet campaign on a budget of less than $5,000. He said the advertising by Hayes and Kouri misses the point.
''They are not working to educate the people or preserve the Constitution,'' he said.
This article cites a partisan GOP poll from last week, giving Hayes (R) a 53-31 lead. An earlier partisan Dem poll showed Hayes up 48-36.
If you want on or off my poll ping list, let me know!
Yes, but last time was a rematch of the 1998 election, so Hayes' previous opponent was well known. Kouri, a political new-comer, only has around 41% name ID, and has not run any TV ads, yet. It's not too surprising that Hayes, being a two-term incumbent and former gubernatorial nominee, would have a significant lead over him.
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