In other races …
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory disproved theories about anti-Charlotte attitudes across North Carolina Tuesday by winning the Republican nomination for governor. Despite his late entry into the race, McCrory even bested Salisbury attorney Bill Graham in Rowan, winning nearly 59 percent of the Rowan vote to Graham’s 22.5 percent. Ouch.
On the Democratic side, Beverly Perdue proved that positive campaigning can work. She defeated Richard Moore in the Democratic gubernatorial race convincingly, setting up a race against McCrory that will put her new strategy to the test. Maybe they’ll see which one can out-positive the other. Don’t bet on it.
Jim Sides’ easy victory and Carl Ford’s claim of the second spot on the GOP county commission slate prove unequivocally that Rowan Republicans are sticking to their conservative, religious ways ó as if there was any doubt. With Democrats itching to take the nation in a different direction nationally and unaffiliated voters ready to help them, the call for change could even reverberate through Rowan. Sides and Ford may find formidable foes in Democrats Raymond Coltrain and Laura Lyerly. Coltrain’s 7,200-vote total ó nearly twice as much as Sides’ 3,670 votes ó also speaks volumes. But Republicans will be more motivated this fall. There are no sure things.