Posted on 11/09/2006 8:02:55 PM PST by micheknows
Democrat Holds Out Hope in North Carolina By TIM WHITMIRE AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov. 9) - There are still 1,492 provisional ballots to be counted in the undecided race for the 8th District U.S. House seat between Robin Hayes and Larry Kissell, state elections officials said Thursday.
Democratic challenger Kissell expressed optimism that he would be able to make up a 465-vote deficit in the unofficial count.
"I am confident that once all these votes are counted that we will be victorious," Kissell said in a statement Thursday, adding that local lawyers and national election specialists were assisting his campaign "to make sure the integrity of this election is upheld."
"We have worked too hard to let a single vote go uncounted, or be unjustly thrown out," Kissell said.
Kissell, a school teacher from rural Montgomery County, ran a mostly grass-roots campaign against Hayes, a four-term incumbent who is heir to the Cannon family textile fortune and one of the wealthiest members of Congress.
Criticizing Hayes for his 2005 deciding vote in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement and for his support of the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Kissell won enthusiastic support from liberal activists.
The well-funded Hayes poured money into television advertisements attacking Kissell for allegedly inconsistent positions on Iraq and for his criticisms of the drug benefit.
Though Democrats enjoy a substantial registration advantage in the district, the 8th went to President Bush easily in 2000 and 2004 and Hayes had enjoyed comfortable margins in his last three re-election efforts. This year, though, Kissell clearly benefited from a heavy turnout of angry Democratic voters; he won 68 percent of the votes in Mecklenburg County, where the 8th District includes some of Charlotte's most liberal precincts.
Provisional ballot results are to be reported to the State Board of Elections on Nov. 17, along with final, official vote totals for the race.
If the margin of victory is less than 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate will then have one business day to request a recount, which would be completed within 48 hours, according to election officials.
In the unlikely scenario in which all 1,492 provisional ballots were upheld and contained votes in the congressional race, Kissell would have to win 979, or 66 percent, of the ballots to overcome his current disadvantage.
The provisional ballots are divided by county: Anson, 107; Cabarrus, 311; Cumberland, 281; Hoke, 103; Mecklenburg, 195; Montgomery, 69; Richmond, 100; Scotland, 186; Stanly, 99; Union, 41.
Hayes took 60 percent of the vote in Cabarrus, his home county, and 54 percent in Cumberland, which is home to Fayetteville.
greedy bastards
Any experts out there able to predict the outcome of this race?
Eh, he's less popular than he has been I think. Talked to family that lives on the edge of that district and they felt it was going to be closer than it has been in the past. Course the Eastern part of the state as a whole has leaned Democrat for years.
Count the ballots again and again until you win.
From the names of the counties, it looks to me like this district borders South Carolina from the center of NC westward. Fayetteville is the seat of Cumberland on the eastern side and Charlotte is in Mecklenburg on the west. Pretty big district, actually. Quite rural. Seems like old-line Southern politics played into this one as much as anything the MSM was plumping for as issues.
Loss of manufacturing jobs played into this. Interesting how the Medicare drug thing, did, too! I have spoken to several older folks who completely turned away from the GOP because the GOP wrecked the insurance arrangements that they had in place for prescriptions.
Well, they voted their priorities, didn't they?
Seriously, thank you for the data, Mamz. I know that loss of manufacturing jobs where I live (about 50 miles north of the district) still smarts. Thing is, people are starting to forget who cost them those jobs (that would be, harumph, Clinton), so voting for a Democrat to fix it is kind of like hiring the thief who cleaned out your safe to be your site guard.
Anyway.
Single-issue voters made all the difference in this election and I'm wondering if that kind of fragmentation is going to continue? We were thinking there that if we could isolate the various elements of the Democratic big tent, we could move them into the larger Republican one. That seems not to have worked and I'd expect that the Dems will now work on satisfying their various client groups while they bide their time until the Bush tax cuts go away (2010).
I figure news about laws being proposed over the next two years is going to look odd and even petty-minded though always full of compassion and love for the down-trodden. The MSM coverage against Grinches inclined to point out the long-term costs of what are mooted as short-term gifts will provide the necessary cover against reality breaking in.
This is really going to cost us all for a while. And the only way it won't is if we give in and join the crowd with their hands out for whatever freebie comes to the demographic we happen to be a part of.
Behavior modification, right at your doorstep, courtesy of your new massas.
There is no doubt the GOP Medicare drug "benefit" is a massive boondoggle.
It could almost be a Dumblecrat program: it is incomprehensible, ever changing and it does not help those who need it the most.
It is GOP in that it enriches the insurance and drug companies. Humana's profits on the Medicare program were bordering on obscene so this year they decided to raise their premiums and cut coverage.
The program is absurd.
And I am not sure anyone who voted for it even understood any thing beyond "prescription drugs for seniors=good".
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