Taylor-Shuler: What to watch for

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Three weeks to go until decision day and things keep heating up. There’s a new poll out that shows Democratic challenger Heath Shuler up 8 points over U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor.

We once again want to point out that these polls are pretty meaningless.

Two years ago, challenger Patsy Keever had polls showing she was 10 points up on Taylor. She was convinced she was going to win – she even called the Taylor camp the night before Election Day to be sure Taylor had her cell phone number so he could call and concede. But Keever lost.

Taylor’s camp has polling that consistently shows Taylor with a 4 point lead over Shuler.

We read these polls and believe that the race is a statistical toss-up. It’s going to be a damn close race, decided by the slimmest of margins. Who has the best get-out-the-vote organization? It’s been the Republicans all the way the past several elections.

So what else can we expect to see? First, there will be more phone calling. Have you gotten a call yet? If not, you will.

There will be more mass mailings. Have you seen the one from Taylor with the lady shaking her finger, saying she’ll wash Shuler’s mouth out with soap? Or the one from Taylor showing Shuler carrying money bags and sporting an “I heart Tennessee” button? Or the one from Shuler listing every Taylor scandal, from slumlording to skipping his tax payments?

There will be more television ads. Have you seen how much these guys are spending on television advertising? You won’t escape it.

Also, be on the lookout for the candidates to bring in some star power to stump on their behalf. Will President Bush come to WNC to give Taylor a pat on the back? Actually, Bush was in N.C. today and didn’t stop by, so who knows. Somebody will come by to give him a boost.

Shuler, to brush up his liberal bona fides, is having U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon stop by. Blumenauer is one of these bow-tied, high-minded liberals who likes talk about global warming and Bike to Work Day. There’s sure to be others looking to jump on the Shuler bandwagon.

Fasten your seatbelts!

A good link to check out is realclearpolitics.com