High stakes in N. Carolina court races with majority on line for governor
Thursday, November 17, 2017
RALEIGH — A major financial prize is at stake in North Carolina’s four House races on Election Day as both major parties are spending millions of dollars in a state that has become a target for national Democrats after its longtime Republican governor and lieutenant governor lost their re-election bids last month.
The prize for Republicans is a second chance in what will be a heavily contested statewide election. Democrats will hope to take control of the state House of Representatives. Both parties will have candidates campaigning hard for the winner, who will most likely be a former Republican who lost the governor’s race after Republicans won the state in a 2016 wave election.
At stake in the state’s congressional races is control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats are hoping to take control of the House, and if they do, they will have a major say in whether President Trump and congressional Republicans have the legislative power necessary to pass their agenda.
Republicans are hoping to gain a House seat, though it’s unclear if they’ll be able to make significant inroads in an area where many Republican incumbents have been relatively competitive in recent campaigns.
The stakes are high in three congressional seats where no party candidate has been elected to the House: in the 11th Congressional District, which contains the city of Charlotte, and in the 9th and 10th districts, which include Charlotte and western North Carolina.
The 11th is represented by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who has largely campaigned on his party’s values, including his strong support of Trump’s policies. McHenry won his re-election race in 2006 by 605 votes, or about 1.8 percentage points. The 9th and 10th districts are represented by Reps. Dan Bishop, D-N.C., and David Price, R-N.C. The two-term representatives won re-election in their campaigns for the House in 2013, 2016 and 2018.
“There are plenty of good, conservative, capable candidates from both parties,” McHenry said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’ve got two former Republicans now running for my seat, but none have raised the resources we need to win.”
The race is likely to draw national attention as both campaigns are
