Officially, the field for next May’s N.C. GOP Senate primary includes House Speaker Thom Tillis, tea party favorite Greg Brannon, the Rev. Mark Harris, radio host Bill Flynn and nurse practitioner Heather Grant. Without being rude, let’s take a look at the three people who can make it to next November. And then I’ll show you the candidate who should actually win.
Thom Tillis: After being swept onto the speaker’s podium in 2010 by a wave of fiscal sensibility, Tillis presided over some of the more controversial legislative sessions in recent memory. While lacking the cloak-and-dagger shenanigans of the Education Lottery debate, these past three years have seen the House GOP offend women, minorities, students, teachers, the poor, homosexuals … you see my point.
Greg Brannon: By channeling Rand Paul even down to the plagiarism scandal, Brannon has positioned himself as the anti-establishment candidate who just may have what it takes to get elected to the country’s most exclusive social club. But lacking the eloquence of Ted Cruz and the last name of Rand Paul, Brannon seems destined to be another tea party flameout.
Rev. Mark Harris: Please God, no. While I respect what he has accomplished as a spiritual leader, if the GOP nominates the president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, Kay Hagan will beat us eight ways to Sunday.
Who do I want to run? How about a certain former mayor of North Carolina’s biggest city who presided over a period of impressive economic growth and won the DTH’s endorsement when he ran for governor in 2012? Yes, I’m talking about Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.
Isn’t he busy governing something? Technically. But I never promised a candidate who would run. And at this point in time, he probably couldn’t win either with a 39 percent approval rating. Much like my support for 2008 Mitt Romney in the 2012 elections, this was a purely hypothetical exercise.
Charlotte Pat was a candidate from a different time, before he was chased around by liberal groups carrying puppets and owls and before he was railroaded by a GOP legislature that decided to go nuts with its first political trifecta.
In a time where this country needs to take a hard look at its economic competitiveness, Charlotte Pat boasts a resume that includes helping to bring tens of thousands of jobs to his city. In a time where light rail and green energy are curse words in the GOP, Charlotte Pat has shown a fondness for both. And in a time where Republicans and Democrats really don’t like each other, Charlotte Pat offers seven election victories in a city where Democrats and independents outnumber Republicans three to one.
Charlotte Pat is the hero the GOP needs right now, but not the one it deserves. As Governor Pat has likely learned, you either retire a hero or serve long enough to see yourself become the villain.
