Big Guy likely to pass on 8th District rematch

It's no surprise that a lot of Republicans are salivating over the new 8th Congressional District.

It's not the same district that has twice elected Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. It still runs from Charlotte east. But now there's fewer Democrat-heavy, Mecklenburg County precincts and new, mostly Republican voters in Randolph, Davidson and Davie counties.

In 2008 Barack Obama carried the current district with more than 52 percent of the vote. Republican John McCain would have carried the newly configured 8th with almost 58 percent of the vote.

So far GOP state Reps. Jerry Dockham of Davidson County and Justin Burr of Stanly County as well as former Iredell County commissioner Scott Keadle have expressed an interest. Not on the list? Harold Johnson, aka "The Big Guy" from his years as a WSOC TV sportscaster.

In 2010 Johnson won a GOP primary but lost to Kissell. Now, he says, he's "probably not" going to run. And Johnson, a longtime Statesville resident who moved to Cabarrus County to run two years ago, has moved back to Statesville.

Kissell, by the way, already has announced that he'll run again.

4:25: correction made. Johnson ran in 2010, not 2008.

Cantor: The 8th District is 'a majority-maker'

Republican Harold Johnson got a boost today from one of the House's ranking GOP leaders.

Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia headlined a fundraiser for the 8th District candidate at Charlotte's Fireman's Hall. Before the luncheon, the two spoke to two reporters at a news conference.

Cantor, who is going around the country stumping for GOP candidates, called Johnson's race against incumbent Democrat Larry Kissell "a majority-maker."

"This race is critical to our obtaining a majority," he said.

Cantor said Kissell had "cast his lot with (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi."

"He has demonstrated his willingness to go along with a destructive policy," he said.

The two split only when I asked Johnson about TV ads that criticize his support for the so-called Fair Tax. Advocates of the Fair Tax would abolish the federal income tax and Internal Revenue Service and repeal the 16th Amendment that authorizes them. They would replace it all with a 23 percent national sales tax.

"What this tax would do is eliminate the income tax as we know it and the IRS," Johnson said. If it comes to a floor for a vote, I would be there."

He'd be there without Cantor, who said he opposes the Fair Tax. "I'm a support of refining the tax code to make it simpler," he said.

Johnson and Cantor did agree on their opposition to "card check" legislation that would make it easier for labor unions to organize. Kissell is a co-sponsor of the legislation. Cantor and Johnson made their comments standing virtually atop a marble slab engraved with the local of Local 666 of the International Association of Firefighters.

"I sort of realized the irony," Cantor said later.

Johnson shooting for cash with Young Guns

Republican 8th District candidate Harold Johnson is going to Washington this week to meet with GOP officials -- and replenish his campaign coffers.

Johnson, 69, is one of 26 "Young Guns" invited to meetings with House Republican leaders and GOP donors from Tuesday to Thursday.

Johnson was named this month as one of the 78 candidates in the Young Guns program.

Johnson spokesman Bryan Holladay said the candidate will meet with donors who can help him offset Democratic spending in the race. The Democratic Congressional Campaign committee and state Democratic Party have spent at least $300,000 on TV ads in support of Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which has spent $128,000 against S.C. Democrat John Spratt, has yet to weigh in on Johnson's behalf. An independent conservative group, Americans for Job Security, has spent $550,000 against Kissell.

Pelosi grabs Carolina headlines

A week after a Republican "Fire Pelosi" bus tour rolls through North Carolina, Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself comes to South Carolina.
Pelosi, of San Francisco, will speak to the Charleston NAACP on Sept. 25.

Tomorrow night in Fayetteville, Republican Congressional candidate Harold Johnson will join national GOP chairman Michael Steele on the "Fire Pelosi" tour. Earlier, Steele will hold a similar rally in Raleigh with two Triangle-area GOP candidates.

Pelosi has been red meat for Republicans. Recent national polls put Congressional job approval as low as 21 percent.

Dueling polls in the 8th District

Republican Harold Johnson's campaign is touting a new internal poll that shows him narrowly trailing 8th District Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell by 5 percentage points. "This is a real shot in the arm for all of us," Johnson said. "Obviously this race is very competitive."

Not surprisingly, the poll differs from an internal poll for Kissell two weeks ago that showed the freshman Democrat with a 17-point lead.

Both surveys suggest the race is running counter to national and state trends, at least for now.

Recent polls on RealClearPolitics.com show Republicans with a lead of as many as 13 points on the generic Congressional ballot. Raleigh's Public Policy Polling found voters favor Republicans in generic legislative races by eight points.

Despite the absence of an independent poll, the 8th District is considered North Carolina's only real toss-up contest by many analysts.

Kissell spokesman Christopher Shuler dismissed the latest GOP poll. It was done by Public Opinion Strategies, the same company that showed Kissell trailing Republican Rep. Robin Hayes a few weeks before the 2008 election. Kissell won by 10 percentage points.

Johnson rebuts Kissell poll

Republican congressional candidate Harold Johnson today dismissed a poll done for his rival, Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell, calling it "a desperate move."

The internal campaign poll, by a Democratic firm, showed Kissell with a 17-point lead over Johnson and wider spread over Libertarian Thomas Hill. Kissell highlighted the survey in a fundraising letter last week.

"I'm putting no stock in it," Johnson said today at a GOP rally in east Charlotte. "It's a desperate move to convince people they should forget (Democratic House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, forget his vote for stimulus."

In his fundraising letter, Kissell quoted from an article about the poll in Roll Call, a Capitol Hill paper. "Kissell said Thursday that while it was nice to have a favorable snapshot of the race, he has no plans to slow down on the campaign trail," the article said.

NRCC targeting Spratt but not Kissell?

In what it calls the "first wave" of its fall plan to take back the House, the National Republican Congressional Committee today released the 40 districts where it has reserved $22 million of air time.

South Carolina's 5th District is on the list. North Carolina's 8th is not.

Democratic U.S. Rep. John Spratt of York faces Republican Mick Mulvaney of Lancaster County in what's expected to be a hard-fought battle.

Democratic incumbent Larry Kissell, whose 8th District stretches from Charlotte to Fayetteville, faces Republican Harold Johnson.

"I'm not concerned about that," Johnson said today. "We had an excellent day of fundraising. We had a very good week last week. We're moving forward ... I know this is a very close race."

Last month the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reserved $871,000 in airtime on Charlotte stations for Spratt and Kissell. It was part of $7.7 million in TV time reservations the campaign group has made on behalf of Democratic House incumbents. The DCCC has reserved an additional $290,000 in S.C. markets for Spratt.

Harold Johnson is no Young Gun

Republican Harold Johnson, who turns 69 on Friday, is no Young Gun.

Politico reported that the National Republican Congressional Committee has picked 16 candidates for the top tier of its “Young Guns” program, an effort that helps chosen House challengers with fundraising and other campaign support.

"The fresh additions to the NRCC’s list provide the most specific look yet at the House GOP’s highest-priority targets for the 2010 cycle," Politico said. "With the 16 additional names ... the “Young Guns” list includes a total of 39 candidates – exactly the number of seats Republicans would need to take back control of the House this November ...

"Several Republicans competing for vulnerable seats did not get the “Young Guns” promotion. North Carolina House candidate Harold Johnson, for example, whom House Republican leaders backed in a primary for Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell’s seat, has not cleared the bar yet."

Johnson could not be reached.

“As demonstrated by his resounding primary victory, Harold Johnson is running an excellent campaign," said NRCC spokesman Andy Sere. "We fully expect him to reach the next level in due time as he replenishes his campaign coffers and gears up for the general election.”

D'Annunzio: 'A man without a country'

It may take Tim D'Annunzio a while to get over Tuesday's loss to fellow Republican Harold Johnson in the 8th Congressional District runoff.

On election night, the disappointed Hoke County businessman said he couldn't endorse Johnson "and his under-handed campaign tactics." Today he also lashed out at his party on his blog called "Christ's War."

"I am a man without a country," he wrote. "The numbers are in and you are found wanting.There is nothing left. It has been made void and without shape. I am a pilgrim in search of a new world.

"All the scriptural code talk aside (you know Daniel 5, Genesis 1 and Hebrews 11), the only difference between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party is the speed with which they will take us to hell.The brakes are off - full speed ahead."

Poll: Johnson fares better against Kissell than D'Annunzio

A new survey by Public Policy Polling shows Republican Harold Johnson would give Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell a stronger challenge in the fall than Tim D'Annunzio.

Kissell leads both Republicans in hypothetical match-ups, but leads D'Annunzio by a much wider margin.

The poll also showed Kissell with "a steep decline" in his approval numbers since January. Johnson and D'Annunzio face off in a Tuesday runoff.

Tom Jensen, a spokesman for the Democratic-leaning firm from Raleigh, said D'Annunzio has been hurt by critical stories since the May 4 primary, including criticism from GOP officials. In th poll, 39 percent said their opinion of him had grown more negative since the first primary.

"The various controversies that have cropped up around D'Annunzio over the last six weeks have been devastating for his poll numbers," Jensen said on his blog.

PPP is expected to release head-to-head numbers in the GOp race on Wednesday.

Ex-NASCAR driver weighs in on the 8th District race

Former NASCAR driver Lake Speed is featured in a new TV ad for Republican Tim D'Annunzio in the 8th District GOP runoff.

Speaking on behalf of We The People NC, a Tea Party offshoot that has endorsed the Hoke County businessman, Speed calls D'Annunzio "a Christian who knows the Constitution and our founding principles very well. Like our nation's founders he's pledged his life, fortune and sacred honor restoring our nation to its principles."

D'Annunzio faces Harold Johnson in a June 22 GOP runoff. His ad will air nightly in Charlotte on Fox.

Johnson, a former Charlotte sportscaster, has had his own NASCAR help. Dale Earnhardt Jr., team owner Felix Sabates and racing figure Ray Evernham have made contributions. Three-time Cup series champion Darrell Waltrip wrote a letter soliciting support.

Fact-checking a Tea Party group

A blog posted on the Web site of the Fayetteville-based "We The People of the Sandhills" carries this headline: "HAROLD JOHNSON--TAX CHEAT AND NON-RESIDENT RUNNING FOR 8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SEAT."

Blogger Michael Hyers posted federal court documents showing a judgment against Johnson for failing to pay federal taxes. I got two e-mails from people who passed the documents along.

One small problem -- it's the wrong Harold Johnson.

A check by our researcher Marion Paynter showed that the tax-owing Harold Johnson lives in Pennsylvania, not North Carolina. He's not the Harold Johnson running for Congress in the 8th District.

It is true that Pennsylvania is outside the district.

Hyers, who appears to have an unlisted number, could not be reached.

"If anybody has questions they want me to answer, before looking foolish writing stuff, give me a call," Johnson says.

Hyers' blog wasn't the only questionable post on the WTP Sandhills site.

A Sunday post announcing its endorsements in congressional races -- including that of Johnson rival Tim D'Annunzio -- described the group as a "non-partisan group of American Patriots" that includes "such notable members" as Cumberland County GOP Chair Suzanne Rucker.

Rucker says she's not even aware she's a "member" of the group and, as party chair, isn't endorsing anyone.

"This is the kind of group I fear that can give a bad name to the Tea Party movement," she said. "The misuse of my name ... is an example of the bad things that can happen."

D'Annunzio, by the way, will rack up his second endorsement in as many days from a Tea Party group. Concord-based "We The People NC" plans to announce its endorsement tonight.

Ric Starnes, spokesman for We The People NC, said his group based its decision on a straw poll among members following a forum last week.

Poll shows 8th District Republicans split

UPDATED BELOW

A new poll in the 8th District Republican primary shows no candidate close to the 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

The poll of 400 likely GOP voters by Diversified Research was commissioned by Harold Johnson, the longtime Charlotte TV sportscaster who now lives in Concord.

Taken April 6-7, it showed Hoke County businessman Tim D'Annunzio at 20 percent, Johnson at 14, Hal Jordan of Charlotte at 9 and retired Army Col. Lou Huddleston at 6 percent. The margin of error is nearly 5 percentage points.

Results for the other two candidates, Lee Cornelison of Charlotte and Darrell Day of Hamlet, were not available. Both have trailed their rivals in fundraising and organization.

Campaign reports due out Thursday are expected to show D'Annunzio, who made millions selling his body armor company, has spent more than $800,000 of his own money in the race.

If no candidate gets 40 percent, the top two finishers would face off in a June 22 runoff.

UPDATE: D'Annunzio has released numbers from a poll he commissioned in late March. That survey, by Pulse Opinion Research, puts him at 26 percent, Johnson at 12, Jordan at 11 and Huddleston at 6. The margin of error is 4.5 percentage points.

"The last thing I want is a runoff," D'Annunzio said today. "I think we're going to win it going away."

Rival tells Harold Johnson: 'Stay out of our district'

Tim D'Annunzio didn't wait long to target the latest Republican in the race for the 8th District congressional seat -- former WSOC TV sportscaster Harold Johnson.

"Voters in our district ... should be offended that a candidate who has never been a resident of this district is attempting to represent them in Washington," D'Annunzio said in a news release.

"We don't need a member of the biased, mainstream media representing our interests in Washington. Our community deserves better than that. What we need is someone who knows how to create jobs and get this country back on track to economic stability.... Mr. Johnson is an outsider who thinks his sports casting background will win him votes. Ironically, the vote he won't get is his own. My message to him is clear - stay out of our district."

Johnson announced his candidacy on Friday and said he'll move from Statesville to Cabarrus County in the 8th District. Both men hope to unseat Democrat Larry Kissell.

Asked about D'Annunzio's comments, Johnson said, "Ive always taken the high road and the high road is going to be focusing on jobs helping folks in the district get back to work."

D'Annunzio, of Hoke County, has invested $300,000 of his own money in the race. At least two other Republicans -- Hal Jordan of Charlotte and Lou Huddleston of Fayetteville, have also announced.