DOBBINS HEIGHTS — He rose before the sun Friday, his paperwork complete, his check for the $1,470 filing fee signed. Antonio Blue was prepared.

But the Dobbins Heights mayor didn’t take his planned trip — the two-hour jaunt to the State Board of Elections office in Raleigh. Filing for all North Carolina congressional races closed at noon.

Uncertainty over the state’s new congressional district maps, which have yet to receive approval from a federal three-judge panel, kept Blue at home, and ultimately off the ballot for the 9th District U.S. House seat.

“I was ready to go this morning,” Blue said. “You know how sometimes you just get a warm and fuzzy feeling about something? I didn’t get that. I just didn’t have a good feeling about it.”

The Feb. 17 boundaries approved by state lawmakers moved Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties from the 8th to the 9th congressional district. The new 9th District also includes Union County, southeastern Mecklenburg, southern Cumberland and western Bladen counties.

But Blue wasn’t willing to file for office in a district that could be redrawn to exclude his hometown. The maps aren’t official without the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina’s nod.

“No one knows what the boundaries are,” Blue said. “It’s like flying blind. There are too many uncertainties. Right now, you couldn’t go out and buy one (campaign) sign. You just don’t know.”

Blue’s decision clears the way for Charlotte businessman Christian Cano to advance to the Nov. 8 general election without a Democratic primary in June.

Blue, who ran as a write-in candidate for the 8th Congressional District in 2012 and was the Democratic nominee in 2014, said he would consider a 2018 House bid.

McLAURIN OPTS OUT

Former Rockingham mayor and state senator Gene McLaurin said Wednesday he would not seek the 9th District seat due to his commitment to Attorney General Roy Cooper’s gubernatorial campaign. McLaurin serves on the fellow Democrat’s state finance committee.

While a timely ruling may not have changed his mind, McLaurin said the lack of clarity over the district lines was a source of frustration as he weighed the pros and cons of running for Congress.

“I’ve been waiting on the courts to make a decision,” McLaurin said Wednesday, “and they have not done that, which is very frustrating. I was looking at whether the districts will hold up or not, but it kind of also made me think, ‘Do I want to go to Washington?’”

While playing the waiting game, McLaurin decided he has more left to accomplish as a key fundraiser on Cooper’s campaign.

McLaurin said he owed it to his supporters to carefully consider the opportunity, though he ultimately decided the timing isn’t right.

“This has not been an easy decision to make,” he said. “I’m not embarrassed to say this decision was made after a lot of thought and a lot of prayer. I’m proud to say that because I am a person of strong faith, and I can tell you that played a big part in my decision.”

McLaurin said he’s “flattered” by all the phone calls he’s received expressing support and encouraging him to run. He hopes his backers will aid him in his efforts to help Cooper take the Executive Mansion.

“That’s what I’m going to spend my time and energy doing for the rest of 2016,” he said. “I’m going to stay involved. I enjoy public service, and I believe there may be some other opportunities at some point.”

McLaurin said the partisan rancor in Raleigh nearly rivals that in Washington, but he believes Cooper can bring needed reforms, including increases in school funding and teacher pay.

3 GOP CANDIDATES

While Cano has a clear path to the Democratic nomination, Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-Charlotte, faces two challengers in the June 7 Republican primary.

Mark Harris, the senior pastor of Charlotte First Baptist Church, filed for the 9th District seat Friday. He plans to make a formal campaign announcement on Monday.

“I’m committed to advancing the conservative principles that are representative of hardworking families in the 9th District and I pledge to provide trusted leadership in Congress,” Harris said in a Friday statement.

Union County businessman Todd Johnson has also filed to challenge Pittenger in the primary.

In the 8th Congressional District, which encompassed Richmond, Scotland and Anson counties under the old boundaries, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-Concord, will face Tim D’Annunzio in the Republican primary while Thomas Mills, a Wadesboro native, political consultant and blogger, was the only Democrat to file for the seat.

Reach Editor Corey Friedman at 910-817-2670 and follow him on Twitter @corey_friedman.

Harris
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Harris-mug.jpgHarris

By Corey Friedman

cfriedman@civitasmedia.com

ON THE BALLOT

June 7 Republican primary

Mark Harris, Charlotte

Todd Johnson, Monroe

Robert Pittenger, Charlotte

Nov. 8 Democratic nominee

Christian Cano, Charlotte