Black caucus backs Democrats -- except one

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Black Political Caucus has endorsed a long list of Democratic candidates from president to county register of deeds. Every Democrat, that is, but one: U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell.

Kissell has angered some African Americans this year for several reasons. He not only voted against President Obama's health care law but voted to repeal it, voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt and said he wouldn't endorse Obama of attend his convention in nearby Charlotte.

Kissell's own 8th District Black Caucus withdrew its support and many of its members are supporting an African American write-in. The two Democrats face Republican Richard Hudson.

A spokeswoman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Caucus said Kissell just didn't get the votes required for an endorsement.

Independent groups spend big for Keadle in 8th

Only three independent groups have been active in North Carolina congressional races this year. Two of them are involved in the 8th District Republican primary.

The two independent groups have spent more than $118,000 on behalf of Mooresville dentist Scott Keadle.

On Friday the American Dental Association reported spending $11,000 on a phone survey for Keadle.

The conservative Club for Growth has spent more than $107,000 on his behalf, much of it on TV buys and direct mail.

The independent spending is a boost to Keadle. A report filed this week showed he's loaned himself $250,000. He's among five Republicans running for the seat held by Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell.

The biggest independent group operating in North Carolina has been a super PAC called the American Foundations Committee. It's spent $366,715 on behalf of former U.S. Attorney George Holding in his 13th District race against Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble.

The News & Observer reports that the super PAC is funded mainly by members of the Holding family.

Kissell, and opponent, bouyed by new 8th District poll

Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell and one of his Republican opponents are both touting a new poll for the Kissell campaign.

The poll shows Kissell leading each of three Republican candidates in the 8th District race. He led Richard Hudson, who pollsters Zac McCrary and John Anzalone called the "perceived Republican frontrunner," 46 percent to 36 percent.

The pollsters also tested Kissell against GOP candidates Fred Steen and John Whitley, though didn't release numbers in those matchups. They didn't test him against Republicans Vernon Robinson or Scott Keadle, or against Democratic rival Marcus Williams.

Hudson called Kissell's showing "weak."

"What this demonstrates is that I am the Republican the Democrats fear most and I am the one who can beat Larry Kissell," he said in a statement. "Kissell recognizes me as the Republican frontrunner and his own poll shows me holding him under 50 percent before we have even begun to hold him accountable for his liberal .... voting record."

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Lauren Slepian, a spokeswoman for Keadle, chose to put her own spin on the results.

"What this demonstrates is that Scott Keadle and Vernon are kicking Kissell's backside," she said, "and Kissell is trying to show that he can beat the weak guys in the field."

Christopher Schuler said Hudson's "trying to do a good job spinning it his way but the numbers speak for themselves."

Pssst... Cheap gas in Montgomery County

Want gas for $1.80-a-gallon? Then head to the Montgomery County town of Biscoe tomorrow.

Republican Vernon Robinson, running for Congress in the 8th District, will be pumping 1,000 gallons at that price beginning at 11 a.m. at the E-ZEE gas station at 306 N. Main St.

Biscoe is the home of Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell. Robinson is one of several Republicans trying to unseat him.

According to Robinson, $1.80 is "the same price gasoline sold for when Larry Kissell and Barack Obama assumed office in January 2009. " Not only is he using the gimmick to make a point, but he's taking a page out of Kissell's playbook.

When Kissell first race unsuccessfully in 2006, he sold gas for $1.22/gallon, the price it was when his GOP opponent, then-Rep. Robin Hayes, took office in 1999. Kissell even ran ads showing motorists lined up for the cheap gas. Today, Kissell welcomed Robinson to his home county.

"I welcome Mr. Robinson to Montgomery County and thank him for spending his campaign money trying to help the citizens of our district stretch their hard-earned dollars in this way," Kissell said in a statement. "I encourage all the other candidates to likewise follow my lead ...

"In a political season already stained by rancor, ill will and brutally negative ads, I congratulate Mr. Robinson for taking the high road and spending his money to help working folks out just a little bit."


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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.

N.C. Blue Dogs go for Cut, Cap & Balance

On the day they faced another hurdle to their re-election hopes, Democratic U.S. Reps. Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina voted with Republicans on a bill to cut federal spending and call for a balanced budget amendment.

Shuler and McIntyre are members of the "Blue Dog" coalition of conservative Democrats. They were the only Democrats from the Carolinas to vote Tuesday for a GOP-sponsored "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill that set out strict spending limits and calls for a balanced budget amendment in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

In separate news releases today, the group Americans for Limited Government called each man's vote "nothing short of heroic." Each, it said, is "one of the last true Blue Dogs, putting country ahead of party."

On Tuesday, Republican state lawmakers unveiled new congressional districts that put McIntyre, of the 7th District, in the 8th District with fellow Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. And Shuler saw his 11th district get slightly more Republican.

One Republican lawmaker, state Sen. David Rouzer, today announced his candidacy for the 7th District.

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.

Pro-business group weighs in against Kissell

In what would be the first outside involvement in the 8th District congressional race, a pro-business group called Americans for Job Security plans to start running $600,000 worth of TV ads against Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell.

It also plans to spend $800,000 on ads against Rep. Bob Etheridge in the 2nd District. The 30-second ads are scheduled to start Tuesday.

The ads, which will run for a month, are expected to criticize their votes for the federal stimulus and other programs.

"Government spending is crippling the economy," said Steve DeMaura, the group's president. "Washington has refused to listen to the people of North Carolina and job creators across the country. When we said 'no' to the so-called stimulus package because it would ultimately threaten job creation, Rep. Larry Kissell voted 'yea.'"

DeMaura told FactCheck.org that as of mid-August, his group had spent $6.3 million on the 2010 elections. In the S.C. GOP gubernatorial primary, it attacked Gresham Barrett, who lost a runoff to Nikki Haley.

Kissell spokesman Christopher Schuler said the campaign is puzzled by the attack.

"The Congressman has a lengthy record of standing up for small businesses time and time again," he said. "That's why the Chamber of Commerce thanked him for his vote for the stimulus, his vote against cap and trade, and his votes against the healthcare bill.

"You can look at last week's groundbreaking at Celgard to see that the Stimulus is creating jobs here in North Carolina."

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.

DCCC reserves air time for Kissell and Spratt

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved $871,000 in airtime on Charlotte stations for two Democrats considered vulnerable, according to today's Hotline on Call.

The online tip sheet says it's 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.

The group had $33.7 million in the bank at the start of this month, about twice as much as its Republican counterpart.

Winners and losers

Some observations about Tuesday's primary:

-- It was not a good day for Charlotte's Black Political Caucus. Despite distributing thousands of copies of its endorsements, a slate pushed by state Rep. Beverly Earle and her counter-caucus were the ones celebrating Tuesday night.

The Earle slate, consisting of Sheriff Chipp Bailey, Sen. Malcolm Graham, Rep. Becky Carney and House candidate Rodney Moore, beat the Black Caucus slate all around. And while the Black Caucus-endorsed Senate candidate Elaine Marshall carried Mecklenburg, most African American precincts went for Ken Lewis, a black attorney from Chapel Hill.

-- A sign of trouble for Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell? While he won 63 percent of the vote in the 8th District, his little-known opponent, Nancy Shakir of Fayetteville, won Mecklenburg County with 51 percent.

-- Turnout in Mecklenburg was one of the lowest in the state at 7 percent.

-- State Rep. Nick Mackey -- another candidate endorsed by the Black Caucus -- carried just two of the 21 precincts in his state House district.

-- Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham needs to work in Mecklenburg. He finished third behind Marshall and Lewis. The handful of precincts he carried were generally suburban areas, and he didn't carry them by much. He won one with 12 votes to Marshall's 11.

-- What to expect from a June 22 runoff when people are on vacation and otherwise occupied? Not much. In 2008, when North Carolina had a runoff for state Labor commissioner, less than 1 percent of Mecklenburg voters showed up. Statewide, turnout was 1.8 percent.

-- Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling, a Democrat-leaning firm, found plenty for Democrats to worry about in the Senate results.

"What the turnout numbers do show is a disturbing lack of interest from Democratic voters," he wrote. "The 426,000 who cast a ballot in the Senate primary represents a 32 percent decline from the 628,000 who did in 2002, and this is despite the fact that after the 2008 election cycle there are more registered Democrats in the state than ever."

D'Annunzio top self-funder in NC -- and one of top in country

Republican Tim D'Annunzio has crossed the $1 million mark in contributions and loans to his 8th District campaign.

The Hoke County businessman gave his campaign another $50,000 on April 29, bringing his total to just over $1 million.

Only three House candidates in the country -- and none in North Carolina -- have reached deeper into their pockets, according to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.

D'Annunzio faces five challengers in the GOP primary for the seat held by Democrat Larry Kissell.

Wrangling over Rangel's money

Add Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell to the list of Democratic congressmen unloading campaign donations from fellow Democrat Charlie Rangel.

Last week the House ethics committee admonished Rangel for violating gift rules by accepting reimbursement for trips to the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008. Since then Republicans across the country have called on Democratic lawmakers to return any money they got from Rangel.

Republican Tim D'Annunzio was apparently the first 8th District GOP challenger to ask Kissell to do the same. He says that since 2006, Kissell has accepted $8,000 from Rangel.

"Other Members of Congress that accepted contributions from Charlie Rangel are quickly distancing themselves from him, and returning the money or donating it to charity," D'Annunzio said in a release. "Why isn't Larry Kissell following their lead?"

According to a spokeswoman, Kissell already had.

Haven Kerchner said Kissell decided Friday to give to charity $4,000 he got from Rangel and $10,000 he got from Rangel's political action committee.

Records also show that Rangel's PAC -- The National leadership PAC -- gave Kissell's 2006 campaign committee another $5,000. Kerchner said because that committee is closed, "those funds are no longer available."

Liberal or conservative: Where N.C. members of Congress rank

Just in time for the election, the National Journal has issued its voting analysis of members of Congress.

How do Carolina lawmakers rank?

Republican Richard Burr is the 9th most conservative member of the Senate, according to the analysis. He gets his highest conservative score on economic issues.

Democrat Kay Hagan ranks in the middle. She's got the 42nd most liberal voting record, or the 55th most conservative of the 100 senators.

In the House the magazine ranks North Carolina's House delegation among the "centrist" delegations, and South Carolina's as conservative.

Here are the rankings for Charlotte-area House members:

-- Republican Patrick McHenry: Tied for 17th most conservative in the 435-member House.
-- Democrat Larry Kissell: 214th most liberal; 217th most conservative.
-- Democrat Mel Watt: Tied for most liberal.
-- Republican Sue Myrick: 34th most conservative.
-- Democrat John Spratt of York: 165th most liberal; 266th most conservative.

Kissell loses supporter, gains opponent

The woman who chaired Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell's two congressional campaigns has turned against him.

Dannie Montgomery, a teacher from Anson County who served as first vice chair of the N.C. Democratic Party, said in a news release today that Kissell "has turned his back on the grassroots supporters who propelled him to office."

She said Kissell has alienated some African American leaders in the 8th District, which could dampen black turnout. She said she has encouraged Charlotte lawyer Chris Kouri to challenge Kissell. Kouri ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2002 against Republican Robin Hayes.

Her defection is the latest sign of liberal disaffection with Kissell. His vote against a Democratic health care bill last fall angered many on the left. But how much harm it caused him is questionable.

A polls last month by Raleigh's Public Policy Polling found that just 29 percent of his constituents knew how he voted on health care.

"That finding is a good reminder that the average voter does not follow politics very closely," poll director Tom Jensen said at the time. "Kissell ... may find himself in better shape once more voters in his district become aware of how he voted on health care. His approval with those who know he voted against it is 52 percent compared to 44 percent with those who think he supported the bill. In a district where a majority are opposed to the Democratic health care plan he cast the right vote for his political future."

Meanwhile a Democrat from Fayetteville plans to challenge Kissell. Writer Nancy Shakir said she's disappointed in his votes.

Through a spokeswoman, Kissell declined comment.

Some Democrats trying to mount primary challenge to Kissell over health care

Still burning over Rep. Larry Kissell's health care vote, some Democrats in North Carolina's 8th Congressional District are courting a Charlotte attorney to mount a primary challenge.

The courtee is Chris Kouri, a former Ivy League football player who ran for the seat in 2002, upsetting a better known Democrat in the primary before losing to Republican Robin Hayes.

“I think it’s a legitimate groundswell," said Mecklenburg County Democratic chairman Joel Ford. "Chris Kouri is entertaining it. And I believe that if Chris gets enough grassroots support he’ll run.”

Kouri, general counsel and director of community relations for Lowes Motor Speedway, declined comment. But even the effort to unseat Kissell, a first-term Democrat in what was for long a Republican-held district, underscores the lingering passion over health care.

Kissell, of Montgomery County, was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the health care bill that passed the House by five votes last month. He was one of just eight from a district carried by President Obama last year.

A Kissell spokeswoman declined to talk about a possible challenge. "The Congressman is doing the people's business and is focused on that," said Haven Kerchner. "He has no comment on politics or his race next year.

Democratic critics of Kissell's vote say they could change their minds if he ultimately votes for any bill that comes back to the House floor. But to see how deep the frustration is Kissell has to look no further than his home county.

"There’s probably a whole lot of people getting in line to run this time." said Ralph Bostic, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. "A lot of people are probably dissatisfied with the way he voted on health care.”

Bostic is unsure whether even he still supports his congressman.

"I don’t know," he said. "I'm between two opinions.”

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.