Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Here’s the wire story:
RALEIGH — Democrats needed 16 years and a former NFL quarterback to topple veteran Rep. Charles Taylor from his seat in Congress.
The GOP now faces the task of trying to upend Taylor’s successor — Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler — before the first-term lawmaker solidifies his hold on western North Carolina’s 11th District.
“Incumbents are most vulnerable during their first years in office until they claim their seats,” said Don Livingston, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “After that, you’d really have to make a bad mistake.”
Livingston questions whether any of the three Republicans competing in Tuesday’s primary will be able to unseat Shuler in November. The former University of Tennessee star won the district by almost 8 percentage points two years ago in his first political campaign, despite being outspent two-to-one. Livingston said Shuler has done nothing since to upset voters.
All 13 members of North Carolina’s U.S. House delegation are running for re-election and most appear likely to keep their jobs. Nine, including Shuler, don’t have primary opponents and will cruise uncontested to the November election.
A moderate who defends gun rights and opposes abortion, Shuler has been careful not to upset conservative voters in his district. He has broken with his party on several occasions, including a vote last year against expanding federal research using embryonic stem cells. He voted against the Democratic budget last month, concerned that it didn’t do enough to protect tax cuts targeted to the middle class.
Of the three Republicans who want to unseat Shuler, only former Henderson County GOP chairman Spence Campbell has reported strong fundraising numbers. He had about $40,000 as of mid-April, while Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower reported just a couple thousand dollars. Macon County lawyer John Armor hasn’t reported fundraising numbers.
Meanwhile, Shuler has set aside more than $735,000 for his re-election campaign.
