North Carolina Runoff Elections: Hudson Advances in 8th District

By Scott Bland  //  July 17, 2012 | 9:29 p.m.

[9:40 p.m.] Former House staffer Richard Hudson won the Republican primary runoff in North Carolina's 8th District Tuesday, fending off Scott Keadle in a fierce primary that became a proxy war for different wings of the Washington, D.C. GOP.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:30 p.m. With 78 percent of precincts reporting, Hudson led Keadle 64 percent to 36 percent. Hudson advances to a general election matchup against Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell, one of the most vulnerable incumbents in Congress.

Hudson, who served as chief of staff to several current and former Republican members of Congress, drew a difficult challenge from Keadle, who was endorsed by the Club for Growth in March. The powerful conservative group's various arms spent about three-quarters of a million dollars on Keadle's behalf. Counteracting that influence, two outside groups with close ties to House leadership -- YG Action Fund, a super PAC run by former aides to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and the American Action Network, which has a number of staffers with ties to Speaker John Boehner -- came to Hudson's defense. Hudson was the first candidate that YG Action supported with an independent expenditure this cycle.

The outside groups countered the Club for Growth's spending with similar amounts and reinforced Hudson's message that Keadle was not conservative enough, turning the usual primary attack for Club-backed candidates the other way around. TV ads keyed on Keadle's acceptance of federal stimulus funds when he was a county commissioner.

Hudson also had a broader base of support to begin with; he finished first in the original primary by a wide margin. But a runoff election in the middle of summer promised such low turnout that nothing was certain for the front-runner.

Now, Hudson gets a major opportunity to unseat Kissell. Kissell survived the Republican wave in 2010, but redistricting swung his district about 10 points more Republican. The two-term incumbent has moved to the right this year as a result, but in doing so Kissell has angered some of his important black supporters, threatening his cachet with the district's Democratic base.

[9:38 p.m.] Mark Meadows won the Republican nomination in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District Tuesday night, defeating Vance Patterson in the GOP primary runoff.

The Associated Press called the race for Meadows at 9:25 p.m. With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Meadows was ahead of Patterson 76 percent to 24 percent. Meadows, a businessman, now officially becomes an instrument in the North Carolina Republican Party's wider plan to wrestle control of the state's congressional delegation back from Democrats. Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler currently represents the 11th District, but he retired after GOP state legislators made the seat significantly more conservative in redistricting. Shuler's former chief of staff, Hayden Rogers is raising money well, but he's running one of the most Republican-leaning districts in the state, and Meadows starts the general election as a big favorite. [9:29 p.m.] Former state Sen. Robert Pittenger won the Republican congressional nomination in North Carolina's 9th District Tuesday night, defeating Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Pendergraph in a tight GOP runoff. Charlotte's News 14 reported that Pendergraph conceded to Pittenger around 9:15 p.m. With 88 percent of precincts reporting, PIttenger led 53 percent to 47 percent. Pittenger now becomes a heavy favorite in the general election. The promise of a safe seat contributed to an exceptionally nasty primary campaign. Pittenger cast Pendergraph as a flip-flopper at every opportunity, while Pendergraph struck back with accusations of ethics violations and felonies committed in the state Senate. The Charlotte Observer ultimately declined to endorse in the runoff, writing that the candidates had "done all they can to cement people's disgust for politics." With that behind him, though, Pittenger can begin to look forward to succeeding retiring GOP Rep. Sue Myrick in Congress next year.

Read & Post Comments
Leave A Comment
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus
Follow National Journal
About

Staff


Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Steve Shepard, Executive Editor
Julie Sobel, Editor
Kevin Brennan, Deputy Editor


Disclaimer


On Call editors reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments. The Hotline, National Journal Group, Inc. and Atlantic Media Company are not responsible for the content of the comments that remain.