Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Several political observers are noting the entrance of Jeff Miller, a Hendersonville Republican, in the race against U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler. Miller is the founder of the Honor Air program that has flown hundreds of aging vets to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II memorial. He was heavily recruited last time around, but decided not to run. Now he’s in.
From RedState.com:
To be clear, there are already several GOP candidates in the race. They include Former Hendersonville Mayor Greg Newman, businessman Kenny West, ophthalmologist Dr. Dan Eichenbaum and attorney Ed Krause. But Miller may pose the toughest challenge for Shuler. The district was previously considered ‘Likely Democratic,’ despite its 6-point Republican lean. We’ll see if Miller (or another candidate) can move that needle.
And a more strongly worded case for Miller here from Asheville political observer Michael Muller, who blogs over at Scrutiny Hooligans:
Y’all prolly know by now that Hendersonville businessman and Honor Air founder Jeff Miller has jumped (back) into the NC-11 GOP race. His announcement changes the calculus entirely.
Miller is the only Republican candidate who can beat Shuler in the fall: he’s smart, likable, well respected, and has great name recognition and broad bipartisan appeal. The question is, can he get through an off-year primary in a party that’s largely controlled by crazies? I’m thinking that we’re about to see a battle royale between the Tea Party/Stompers/Libertarian/Assorted Wingnuts faction (who will support Eichenbaum) and more mainstream Republicans and veterans, who will support Miller.
If Republicans knew what was good for them — and with all due respect — the other six candidates would bow out gracefully and focus their energies on promoting Jeff Miller around the 11th District. He’s their only hope come November.
