Free Republic

The complainant Bob HallBob Hall is Executive Director and Research Director for Democracy North Carolina. [Return to top] Elections Board Larry LeakeLarry Leake, State Board of Elections Chairman, is a Democrat from Mars Hill. [Return to top] Lorraine G. ShinnLorraine G. Shinn, board member, is a Republican from Greenville. [Return to top] Charles WinfreeCharles Winfree, board member, is a Republican from Greensboro. [Return to top] Genevieve C. SimsGenevieve C. Sims, board member, is a Democrat from Raleigh. [Return to top] Robert CordleRobert Cordle, board member, is a Democrat from Charlotte (he has recused himself from the hearings because his...

Republican challenger Patrick Ballantine has pulled out of his only scheduled debate with Gov. Mike Easley, citing Easley's unwillingness to commit to any other forums. (snip) The N.C. Association of Broadcasters tried to work out a statewide debate but pulled its offer to organize a forum this week. "The governor kept giving us obstacles as to why he did not wish to accept our proposal for a debate," said Clay Milstead, who chairs the broadcast group's debate committee and works for WCTI-TV in New Bern. (snip) "We told them we didn't have to do it that way, that we were...

RALEIGH --The North Carolina Republican Party on Saturday endorsed Raleigh lawyer Paul Newby for the Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Robert Orr, and the gesture gave an inkling of how the two major political parties might treat the nonpartisan races this year. The 2004 campaign marks the first election in which candidates for appellate court judgeships cannot denote their party affiliation on the ballot. The Democrat-dominated General Assembly applied the new restrictions during the 2002 session after a string of Republican successes in Supreme Court and Appeals Court races in recent election cycles. Interviews with candidates and party officials,...

RALEIGH — The race to succeed U.S. Rep. Cass Ballenger in North Carolina’s 10th District is down to two Republicans (and an underdog Democrat), and each GOP candidate is claiming the mantle as most conservative as they head toward a runoff election Aug. 17. For David Huffman, Catawba County’s sheriff, that means invoking his ties to President Bush through his Homeland Security work, his chaplaincy role for the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, and his membership in the National Rifle Association. For State Rep. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, it means emphasizing his work on President Bush’s 2000 campaign (including a stint...

RALEIGH,N.C. -- Richard Vinroot announced Thursday afternoon that he will not call for a runoff in the GOP Gubernatorial election, thus handing the Republican nomination to primary winner Patrick Ballantine.

Good Afternoon, My name is Nick Polyzos and I am the Chairman of the newly founded Union County Young Republicans, based in Monroe, North Carolina. As you can tell, we have a long and tumultuous fight ahead of us this November, with the Democrats trying to regain the presidency, and will pull every tactic to get it. John Edwards is from North Carolina and we are doing our best to make sure that the Tarheel State does not go into the Blue column in November. We are a young fledgling group, that is willing to put its resources to work...

5th District Broyhill 240 Robinson 183 Helvey 119 Foxx 115 Governor Vinroot 1539 Ballantine 1201 Cobey 1110

A federal report showing that a political committee controlled by allies of House Republican Co-Speaker Richard Morgan got $100,000 from a small tobacco company in Virginia has Morgan's rivals raising questions about the donation. The N.C. Republican Main Street Committee, a so-called "527" independent committee controlled by Morgan's closest allies, reported to the Internal Revenue Service this week that it has raised $160,200. The committee has run campaign ads on behalf of Morgan's legislative supporters. But more than half the committee's money - $100,000 - came in a single donation on April 29 from S&M Brands Inc. of Keysville, Va.

Islamic Terrorism, Berg's Executioners, Illegal Immigration, Jesse Jackson's mug shot....All in one television commercial. http://vernonrobinson.com/media/twilight.mov

Politician's campaign tactics questionedFormer N.C. GOP leader accused of unfairly using party resources to bolster bid for governorThe Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — GOP rivals are accusing former N.C. Republican Party chairman Bill Cobey of unfairly using the party's common resources and staff to boost his bid for governor.Supporters or aides to three other Republican candidates for governor — Southern Pines insurance executive George Little, former Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot and former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine of Wilmington — complain Cobey is using party mailing lists and e-mail lists in his campaign to win the party's nomination in the July...

Former state Supreme Court Justice G.K. Butterfield of Wilson has decided he won't challenge U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance in the 1st District Democratic primary. Butterfield, who is now a Superior Court judge, had formed an exploratory campaign committee, citing in part a scandal involving a charitable foundation formed by Ballance. Butterfield said he commissioned a poll that found 58 percent of those surveyed were aware of the investigation into the John A. Hyman Memorial Youth Foundation. Still, he said Ballance should not be obstructed in his work and would abide by a promise he made to Ballance not to challenge...

<p>A North Carolina newspaper meant to chastise Republican Vernon Robinson when it declared: "Jesse Helms is back! This time, he's black."</p> <p>Now that quote has become Mr. Robinson's campaign slogan as he battles seven other 5th District congressional candidates in the July 20 Republican primary.</p>

U.S. Rep. Richard Burr's decision to seek the U.S. Senate seat of John Edwards may have some Piedmont Triad voters remembering the 1970s television comedy "Eight is Enough." With the primary election more than three months away and the general election seven months off, eight candidates are already in a messy tussle for the Republican nomination for Burr's 5th Congressional District seat. They include current and former state legislators and a black conservative activist. There's also a soy supplement executive and the scion of the Broyhill furniture family. Though most campaigns only heat up in the final weeks before a...

RALEIGH - Elections for state office in North Carolina in recent years have revolved around issues such as taxes, spending, education and a proposed state lottery. This year, I think transportation will play a much larger role than it has in a long time. Partly, this is a result of the fading of the public schools as a central focus of the political class - not because education isn't still a higher priority for both candidates and voters, but because there is at least a perception of progress. Based on polling and voting behavior, I don't think North Carolinians see...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- A panel of federal judges refused today to stop North Carolina's legislative elections under districts created by a state court judge.</p> <p>The three-member panel in the District of Columbia says there is no compelling reason to issue an injunction. The court had been asked to stop the approval process of the districts which is now under way.</p>