More campaign updates (Squall Lines)
The Brunswick Beacon notes some legislative announcements here. Democrat Rep. Dewey Hill will run for reelection in the 20th District, which Civitas rates as a D-9 seat. Republican Tristan Patterson plans to make a go of it, anyway.
Meanwhile, Sen. Julia Boseman responds to the argument that past legal problems make her a questionable candidate for district court judge.
WECT reports that Brian Moore, a Wilmington attorney who is unaffiliated, will run for the New Hanover Clerk of Court seat to be vacated by Brenda Tucker. In Pender County, it’s the chairman of the county commission, Jimmy Tate, who is running for clerk of court. He’s a Democrat; the current clerk, Robert Kilroy, is a Republican.
Challengers' ties to Rep. Mackey spur accusations (Charlotte Observer)
Three Democratic legislators from Mecklenburg County are gearing up for primary challenges - and some suspect that fellow Democratic lawmaker Nick Mackey may be behind them.
State Sen. Malcolm Graham and Reps. Beverly Earle and Becky Carney all expect May primaries after candidate filing opens Feb. 8.
Mackey denies having anything to do with recruiting the challengers, though one is his former legislative aide and another is a former associate from his years at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Colleagues aren't necessarily buying it.
"It's not very kind, it's kind of weird," Graham said Tuesday.
Earle, who has never faced a primary over her eight terms, said, "A lot of other folks are wondering ... why he would do this especially at this particular time."
"It's just such a coincidence" that they're Mackey's associates, she said.
Mackey acknowledges that he knows the challengers and even said he would support them. But he said he did not recruit them.
"It's offensive to me for someone to say 'Nick Mackey did this,'" he said. "They don't have any basis to say it."
It's unusual for incumbents, especially long-term incumbents, to face a challenge from within their own party. Primaries force incumbents to spend money they could otherwise use in a general election. It's more unusual for incumbents to believe a colleague from their own party is behind a challenge.
Talk of Mackey's connection to the challengers picked up during Monday's Uptown Democratic Forum, when he shared a table with two of them. His former legislative assistant, John Montgomery, announced that he's challenging Graham. And Rocky Bailey, who served in the Police Department with Mackey, announced his run against Earle.
Mackey friend Kim Ratliff is challenging Carney. Neither she, Montgomery or Bailey could be reached Tuesday.
"I feel like he's behind some of these candidates, he's involved with it," Carney said of Mackey. "All these people ... have ties to Nick Mackey."
"I have recruited no one," Mackey said. "I've got my own race to run."
Another former Mackey associate is challenging Democratic Sheriff Chipp Bailey. Bailey was appointed sheriff in early 2008 after the state Democratic Party threw out a disputed party election in which Mackey beat Bailey. County commissioners went on to install Bailey.
Graham supported Bailey in that contest. In 2008, Earle backed Mackey's legislative opponent, then-Rep. Drew Saunders.
Chipp Bailey's challenger is Antoine Ensley. He was a former police officer with Mackey. He said Mackey had nothing to do with his decision to run.
"I'm just flabbergasted that somebody would indicate that I needed to consult with Mr. Mackey to consider running for sheriff," he said.
For his part, Mackey said he doesn't mind people talking about him.
"It's good to be talked about or thought about," he said, "because once they forget about you, your time is up."