Newt -- and aide -- glad to be back South

After the cold winds -- and colder results from Iowa and New Hampshire -- South Carolina was a welcome stop for Republican Newt Gingrich this morning.

It's good to be home in the South," the former Georgia congressman told an audience in Rock Hill, less than 14 hours after the last polls closed in new Hampshire.

And he wasn't the only one to enjoy being in the Palmetto State.

"I'm really happy to be in South Carolina," said R.C. Hammond, his national press secretary. "You know why? It's warm here. No one is ever mean to you. And the food gets better every place we go."

McCrory to announce Jan. 31 -- but not in Charlotte

Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory finally plans to kick off his gubernatorial campaign Jan. 31 in Greensboro, according to a campaign aide.

The Republican has made no secret of his plans for a rematch against Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

He already has nearly matched her in fundraising. Campaign aides have said he raised $2.5 million compared to her $2.6 million. Polls have shown him with a consistent lead.

The N.C. Democratic Party this month launched a new web site attacking McCrory, including videos from a campaign tracker.

According to the aide, McCrory is expected to hold a late afternoon kickoff at Greensboro's Oriental Shrine Club.

Ex-UNCC prof weighs in on GOP districting plan

From his days heading the political science department at UNC Charlotte, Ted Arrington has been an authoritative voice on redistricting. Not only has he helped draw the lines for local districts in Mecklenburg County, he served as an expert witness in redistricting cases across the country.

Now retired, he's weighing in on North Carolina's new plan.

Lawyers representing Democrats who are fighting the state's new Republican-drawn plan in court submitted an affidavit from Arrington in which he argues that the plan hurts minority voters.

"The extensive splitting of precincts, which is clearly not necessary to abide by the Constitutional standard of one-person, one-vote, will increase voter confusion and potentially harm voter turnout," he wrote. "Because the splits are concentrated in the Black community, this will be a special problem among Black voters."

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits are trying to overturn the new districts, which favor Republicans.

Arrington is a former Republican-turned-independent.

Bartlett: No wiggle room in election schedule

Could North Carolina's elections be delayed again next year?

That depends on the decision of a panel of judges in Raleigh hearing a pair of lawsuits against the state's new, Republican-drawn voting districts. This week the judges declined to fast-track a trial on the suits and scheduled another hearing for Jan. 12.

In an affidavit, state elections director Gary Bartlett laid out a case against delaying the elections. He cited three previous instances when legal challenges delayed elections, in 1998, 2002 and 2004.

In 1998, when Congressional primaries didn't happen until September, he wrote, "turnout was abysmal" at 8 percent.

"Any delays in establishing district boundaries creates an unfair and uneven playing field with a decisive advantage to wealthy candidates and incumbents," Bartlett wrote.

In addition, he said, the state and county elections boards will have less than three weeks from the close of filing on Feb. 29 to the start of absentee voting for the May 8 primary. Complicating the picture is the requirement to get absentee ballots to N.C.-based members of the armed forces deployed around the world.

Even compressing the times for filing and ballot preparation, he said, final lines would need to be in place by Feb. 24 for the May 8 primary to go of on schedule.

"A schedule this tight would put additional demands on elections officials," he wrote, "operating under such a tight timetable can undermine the successful conduct of elections."

Art Pope: 'Maybe I'll go' to Art Pope protest

It's being called "Art Pope Exposed, a community teach-in," and scheduled for Tuesday night in downtown Raleigh.

The event is sponsored by the Institute for Southern Studies and includes a panel with representatives from Democracy North Carolina and the N.C. AFL-CIO.

"Want to know what all the Art Pope buzz is about?" a press release asks. "Curious to know more about his political network and its influence on everything from cuts to North Carolina schools to the state's anti-gay marriage amendment?"

Pope is a wealthy Raleigh retailer who has helped bankroll conservative causes and candidates throughout the state to the tune of $40 million according to one study. In October, the New Yorker ran a lengthy profile of him headlined, "State for Sale."

The story brought national attention on Pope, who had already become a sort of public enemy to liberal groups throughout the state. He's become a target of Occupy groups, who wave signs bearing slogans like "Say Nope to Art Pope." The North Carolina Association of Educators has called on shoppers to boycott stores in his Variety Wholesalers retail chain.

Pope knows about Tuesday's teach-in.

"I haven't been invited but maybe I'll go, I don't know," he says.

"First of all, I would point out that these are 501(c)3 organizations funded by the Reynolds Foundation and George Soros Open Society Institute, which are attacking me because I support Republican candidates and conservative causes. And that is not proper use of charitable dollars which are supposed to be used for educational purposes.”

He also said the groups didn't attack two men implicated in campaign finance violations because they're Democrats.

But Democracy North Carolina, through its own investigations into campaign finance violations, helped build cases against several Democrats. Among them: former House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who went on to serve time in federal prison.

"We’ve gone after many Democrats,” said Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina. "He shouldn't feel so picked upon."

McCrory still leads Perdue in new poll

Last month's indictments against three supporters of her 2008 campaign hasn't hurt Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue much, according to a new poll. According to polling director Tom Jensen, that's because she "really didn't have a lot more room to drop."

The poll by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found Perdue trailing Republican Pat McCrory 50 percent to 40 percent. That's barely changed since a survey last month before the indictments against her former campaign finance director and two others.

"The good news for North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue is that she has not been harmed yet by the indictments to her 2008 campaign staff that came down last week," Jenson said in a release. "The bad news is she is still underwater with voters and facing a double-digit deficit to likely Republican opponent Pat McCrory."

But there was good news for Perdue. In a Democratic primary, she would beat state Rep. Bill Faison of Chapel Hill, a critic who has talked about challenging her, by 32 points.

Unemployed Charlotte man runs for president: 'Time ... to think outside the box.’

There are 30 Republicans on the ballot in New Hampshire's Jan. 10 presidential primary. Robby Wells is not among them.

Wells, 43, lives in Charlotte. He was assistant football coach at the University of South Carolina and in 2007 became the first white head coach at Savannah State University, a historically black college. He left that job in January 2010.

A few months later he filed a federal discrimination suit, claiming he was forced to resign because he is white. Last month he received a $240,000 settlement, according to the Associated Press.

Now Wells is running for president. He's got a website and a platform he calls The Gameplan. For the time being, he's running as an independent.

"I just felt with the way things were going in our country it was time to take a stand,” said Wells, who lives in northeast Charlotte.

Now unemployed, he knows he's a long shot. He calls 1992 candidate Ross Perot "15 years ahead of his time. He doesn't have Perot's millions.

"Who better to represent the county than (one of) the 99 percent of us who are not wealthy?" he said. "It's time for America to think outside the box."

Battlefield for governor's race? Charlotte city hall

Indictments of three of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's 2008 campaign aides and supporters and a new investigation of her opponent have given campaign strategists and ad-makers plenty to work with in their likely rematch. That hasn't stopped them from looking for more.

An opposition researcher has been scouring records in Charlotte covering Republican Pat McCrory’s 14-year tenure as mayor, and even before.

For months, researcher Ian Mandel, whose Washington firm has been paid at least $23,000 by the Democratic Governors Association, has sought records of McCrory’s travel, aides’ salaries, city budgets and discrimination complaints against the city.

He even asked for reports and witness statements involving a 1992 auto accident in which McCrory admitted running a red light.

McCrory aides liken the search to last week’s announcement that the state elections board will investigate a complaint against McCrory’s 2008 campaign against Perdue. The complaint, filed in April 2010, accused McCrory of coordinating with an independent committee of the Republican Governors Association.

McCrory adviser Brian Nick calls both the complaint and the Charlotte records search “frivolous.”
“It’s just another example of wasting taxpayer money to do political fishing expeditions,” he said.

Republicans also have asked for public records from Perdue's administration. It's unclear whether they're destined to be used in the campaign.

Steen jumps into Kissell race with legislative support

N.C. Rep. Fred Steen of Rowan County will become the latest Republican in the increasingly crowded race for Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell's seat when he announces tomorrow in Landis.

Joining Steen will be a dozen fellow GOP legislators, including at least one reported to have considered the congressional race himself.

Steen will enter the race Thursday morning in front of Landis town hall, where he served five terms as mayor.

Among the lawmakers expected to be at his side: Rep. Justin Burr of Albemarle, once himself mentioned as a candidate for the 8th District seat.

Steen will become the sixth candidate to announce for the seat. He'll join Dan Barry, Richard Hudson, Scott Keadle, Vernon Robinson and John Whitley.

Cain to announce plans on Saturday

As his poll numbers continued to drop, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Friday he plans an announcement about his campaign today at a headquarters opening in Atlanta.

Cain had said he was “reassessing” his campaign after allegations of sexual improprieties, including a 13-year-long affair.

“Before any of the people in the media ask me, I am reassessing because of all of this media firestorm stuff,” he told crowd in Rock Hill. “Why? Because my wife and my family come first.”

Cain’s announcement came at the end of a 30-minute speech at a town hall meeting.

Romney allies rush to defense after new Democratic ad targets him in N.C.

Supporters of Republican Mitt Romney from around the country rushed to his defense today after the presidential candidate was targeted in a new TV ad that began in six markets including Raleigh-Durham.

The ad is taken from a new Democratic website called "Mitt v. Mitt." It shows the GOP presidential candidate making seemingly contradictory statements on issues such as abortion and health care while a narrator describes "two men trapped in one body."



The Obama campaign has been hammering Romney in North Carolina and other swing states, a sign that he's the only GOP candidate the Democrats are worried about at this point. A recent poll by the Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling of Raleigh showed that Romney, alone among the GOP candidates, led Obama in North Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry of Cherryville, like allies in several other states, came to Romney's defense in coordinated conference calls with reporters. He defended Romney while criticizing President Obama.

Meck Dems: 2011 a good omen for 2012

Mecklenburg County Democrats, still basking in last week's election results, hope to build on that success in 2012 -- and help Barack Obama in the process.

Local party strategist Tom Chumley, speaking to the Uptown Democratic Forum this week, noted that Obama took nearly 62 percent of the county's vote in 2008. That was a margin of 100,000 in a state he won by just 14,000 over Republican John McCain.

He said with turnout efforts like last week's and demographic changes that continue to trend for Democrats, that could rise to 65 percent. If turnout stays the same, that could mean 13,000 more Obama votes in Mecklenburg.

And that could make a difference in a tight race. A recent survey by Raleigh's Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, showed Obama leading most Republican hopefuls in the state but trailing Mitt Romney by a point.

A 65 percent turnout for the president in Mecklenburg, Chumley said, means "we carry the state."

A Charlotte Democrat might run for state schools post

Democrat June Atkinson, North Carolina's Superintendent of Education, hasn't said whether she'll run for another term in 2012. If she doesn't, expect a fight for the job.

State Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Charlotte Democrat, said today she'll run if Atkinson doesn't. "If there's a vacancy, I do intend to run," she said.

Cotham is a former middle school teacher and assistant high school principal, Cotham won a special party election in 2007 to replace disgraced for Speaker Jim Black. She has won two elections since.

She's only the latest to express interest in the superintendent's job. The News & Observer reports that Wake County school board vice chairman John Tedesco will decide after the first of the year whether to run.

And state Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, has said he's considering the race.

Polls: Foxx, Stone, Tillis and Obama

Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm based in Raleigh, has polled Charlotte voters on the mayor's race, comments by House Speaker Thom Tillis and other issues on behalf of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch.

PPP also did another poll on the presidential race in North Carolina.

First the Charlotte poll. PPP surveyed 957 registered voters. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.

-- In the mayor's race, incumbent Democrat Anthony Foxx led Republican Scott Stone 58 percent to 32 percent. Ten percent were undecided.

-- Tillis recently told an audience that mandatory drug testing for state employees might be a good idea. Sixty-two percent of Charlotte voters agreed.

-- On redistricting, 58 percent supported creation of a non-partisan commission. Now the legislature draws the maps.

-- Asked about "Occupy Wall Street," 40 percent had a favorable view of the movement and 38 percent viewed it unfavorably. But 58% agreed that the weathiest 1 percent of Americans "has accumulated too much wealth and power."

-- On Obama, 45 percent of state voters approve his job performance while 50 percent disapprove. That's about where he's been for the last three months. Among independents, who helped him carry the state in 2008, only 38 percent say he's doing a good job.

-- Despite that, Obama trails only one Republican in head-to-head match-ups, and that's a virtual tie. Republican Mitt Romney leads 46-45.

Groups plan to challenge districts

A coalition of N.C. groups is poised to file suit over new Republican-drawn voting districts as early as next month, a move that could delay the 2012 primary elections.

The groups, including the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Democracy North Carolina, are waiting to see if the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court approves the plans drawn by GOP lawmakers.

The deadline for Justice to rule on new congressional and legislative voting districts is Nov. 2.

"Our organization is concerned about the way the plans are essentially segregating and promoting segregation of voters in ways not consistent with the Voting Rights Act," says Bob Hall, director of Democracy North Carolina.

A challenge has been expected ever since lawmakers approved the plans over the objections of critics.

"I don't think it's any big secret that we’re going to challenge the maps," says Chris Ketchie, a policy analyst for the Southern Coalition. "The only secret is how we’re going to challenge them."
Legal challenges delayed N.C. elections in 1998 and 2002. And no congressional district in the country has been litigated more than Democrat Mel Watt's 12th, the source of four cases that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Erskine Bowles for President?

They call it part parlor game, part reporting assignment. Politico has launched a presidential race of its own featuring none of the announced candidates, or President Obama.

"The public has had it with Washington and conventional politics," write editor Jim Vandehei and reporter Mike Allen. "It has lost trust and respect in the conventional governing class ... Is there a person in politics, business or entertainment who could harness the public's hunger for something new, different and inspiring?"

To start the ball rolling, they came up with five names: former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles of Charlotte, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers, CIA Director David Petraeus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Here's part of what they say about Bowles: "Many voters seem open to, if not hungry for, a real discussion about tough changes. Ask Republicans and Democrats alike to name a serious and responsible thinker who could lead this discussion and the name Erskine Bowles often tops the list.

"Bowles, 66, is far from an inspirational figure. In fact, he can be as dull as a butter knife in public settings. But he knows budgets, and numbers, and tough choices (he's the man who asked Dick Morris to resign in the Clinton years) and, unlike most, has slapped his name on ideas that upset leaders of both parties but excite deficit hawks on both sides.

"The Bowles pitch would rest on a rarity in modern campaigns: a very specific proposal for the tough budget choices the country should make. He came up with a truly bipartisan plan that took a real whack at America's long-term deficits, only to see the plan abandoned by Obama, who had appointed him to make those choices in the first place.

"The options outlined by Bowles and former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson were not the usual nips, tucks and other plastic surgery but, instead, clear and often painful cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs. The Simpson-Bowles plan uses a mix of spending cuts ($3 trillion) and tax increases ($1 trillion) to do what many of members of both parties, if given truth serum, would say Washington needs to do: save at least $4 trillion over the next decade."

Democratic dirty tricks?

Many members of Mecklenburg County's executive committee got a postcard Saturday, just before their scheduled meeting to endorse candidates for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.

"CEC DEMOCRATIC MEETING POSTPONED" it read. "We apologize for the short notice, and will advise you once a new date has been set."

But the meeting wasn't postponed. The cards, stamped but not postmarked, were an apparent attempt to dampen turnout.

"It's definitely a dirty trick," said party chair Aisha Dew. "It's definitely someone who's not associated with the party who's trying to stop the meeting."

Despite Card-gate, around 160 members of the 300-member committee still showed up, a normal turnout.

"Oddly enough, under the circumstances, we still had a great turnout," said Dew. The party is trying to investigate the matter.

Foxx campaign rejects another debate

It looks like Charlotte voters will have just one chance to see their mayoral candidates debate this month.

The campaign of Democratic Mayor Anthony Foxx has turned down another offer to debate Republican Scott Stone.

Stone's campaign manager, Jessica Wood, extended the offer today in an email to Foxx and his campaign manager, Michael Halle. She said an Oct. 26 forum to which both had been invited was canceled, opening the date for a debate. She said Dave Wagner of WCNC had agreed to moderate a debate that would have been held at UNC Charlotte.

And if that date didn't work, she laid out six others this month as alternatives, including two Sundays.

"Unfortunately our schedule will not allow us to participate on such short notice," Halle emailed in reply. "Sunday mornings are reserved for church and Sunday evenings for family time. The other dates we have previously scheduled."

Halle said Foxx had never confirmed the Oct. 26 forum. Most of the other joint appearances are forums that will include city council candidates. The only direct face-off will be an Oct. 21 League of Women Voters debate.

Machine gun socials return to the 8th

In 2010, Republican congressional candidate Tim D'Annunzio made national headlines when he hosted a pair of machine gun socials in the 8th District.

Now Republican Vernon Robinson is picking up where D'Annunzio left off.

Robinson, from Winston-Salem, plans to run in the 8th District in 2012. He's sponsoring a machine gun fundraiser on Sept. 26 at Eagle Guns in Concord. For $50 supporters can fire a magazine of a fully-automatic submachine gun. There will be a door prize: a new AR-15.

"By hosting this event, Vernon Robinson declares his solidarity with those who enjoy shooting and owning guns," Robinson campaign director Steve Arnold said.

Robinson, who has run for office before, has a way of making news.

As a Winston-Salem alderman in 2004, he bought a one-ton granite marker with the Ten Commandments on one side and the Bill of Rights on the other and planted it at City Hall. The city hauled it away.

He ran for Congress that year in a 5th District Republican primary. Before losing a runoff to Virginia Foxx, he raised almost $3 million from a network of supporters across the country.

In 2006 he ran against Democrat Brad Miller in the 13th District. Making immigration an issue in that race, he ran a TV ad with mariachi music in the background.

"If Miller had his way," it said. "America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals."

Convention kick-off rally set for Sept. 6

Organizers of the 2012 Democratic National Convention plan to hold a "year-out" rally at Time-Warner Cable Arena on Sept. 6, a year to the day before President Obama is expected to claim nomination for a second term.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will be on hand, according to a source close to the convention. The event will be open to the public.

Tickets are free. For information, call 704.330.2012 or email info@clt2012.com.

The convention is scheduled to open on Sept. 3, 2012.