Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010

GOP vies for open seats

Candidates file for 2010 cycle

Western Wake County Republicans are running for congressional and legislative seats in droves.

They're emboldened, part of a statewide movement to gain GOP control in a political climate marked by unease and mistrust of Washington.

The three-week period for 2010 candidate filing ended at noon Friday. Republican candidates will run in all 50 state Senate districts in North Carolina. In the 120-member state House, Republicans have candidates for 110 seats.

The renewed energy comes after a series of high-profile Republican victories in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. The wins breathe new life into a political party crippled during the final years of the Bush administration.

Four Republican candidates, including two from Apex and one from Cary, are challenging 4th District Rep. David Price. Another three are challenging 2nd District Rep. Bob Etheridge.

Three Republicans are vying for a seat in state House District 41, an area that covers Morrisville and parts of Cary, Apex and Raleigh.

"Voters value the fiscal conservative message now more than ever," said Morrisville Councilman Tom Murry, who is running for the seat. "You can't discount what's happening in Washington."

Murry, Todd Batchelor and David Sloane will now face-off in a primary. The winner will challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Heagarty.

Heagarty said he's not worried to be part of a crowded race. "I think it's a mistake to judge what's going on in other states as a bellwether," he said. "Whichever way the economy goes will be important to voters."

Democrats have controlled the state legislature for all but four years since 1898.

Steven Greene, a political science professor at N.C. State University, said Democrats are at a disadvantage.

This year "is clearly shaping up to be a good Republican year," he said. "In race after race, you get much better Republicans running than in 2008. Being in the opposition seems to be more energizing, and there's certainly been a fair amount of liberal backlash against Obama."

And the very best GOP candidates sat out of the 2008 races because they knew it was a good year for Democrats, Greene said.

"That's not the time when the best, the most competitive, the most experienced Republicans are going to run," he said. "Politicians are not stupid. They're very strategic."

Democratic leadership said the Republican outpouring isn't surprising.

"As my daddy said, 'It's not how many dance partners you have. It's who they are.' We think we have a great group of candidates for the open seats," said state Sen. Linda Garrou of Winston-Salem, chairwoman of the Democrats' Senate campaign committee.

More important than the candidates, however, may be the electorate. Conservative groups opposed to health care proposals and stimulus spending renewed their activism last summer. Groups such as Americans for Prosperity have helped the state GOP recruit candidates.

"So much of what happens in elections is not what the candidates do but what the composition of the electorate is," Greene said. "Republican voters are more energized to get out and vote and give money than are Democratic voters."

He added: "I hate to say this, but I don't think the campaign is going to matter. It's really whose voters come out."

Staff writer Rob Christensen contributed to this report.