The race for succession to Rep. Robert Pittenger representing North Carolina’s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives includes 13 candidates.
Ten Republicans will vie May 14 in a primary. If a second primary is needed, it happens Sept. 10; if not, that date becomes the general election.
The general election is Nov. 5 if a second primary is needed.
Candidates for the Democratic Party, Green Party and Libertarian Party do not have a primary.
It’s early, and either a Facebook page or true campaign website is not up for each. On the other side of that slow start is Democrat Dan McCready, who began raising money at the end of 2018 in anticipation the election would need to be held again.
In February, the state Board of Elections did in fact rule that incidents happening last year tainted confidence in the outcome.
Some of the candidates do not live inside the district; the law does not require a member of Congress to live inside the district boundaries.
The following is a sampling of information on the candidates, who are listed in the same order as the state board lists them, using names as they will appear on the ballot:
• Candidate: Dan McCready.
• Party, residence: Democrat from Charlotte.
• Notable: Appeared to lose this race in November by 905 votes to the Rev. Mark Harris, a Baptist preacher from Charlotte.
His campaign raised more than $6.6 million in 2018. By late January, another half-million was in the coffers with a new election yet to be ordered.
From his website, “Dan sees politicians who are so concerned with partisan games, they’ve forgotten who they are supposed to serve. They put party before country, special interests before working families, and divisiveness before solutions. North Carolina’s families deserve better.”
• Candidate: Stevie Rivenbark Hull.
• Party, residence: Republican from Fayetteville.
• Notable: Her website says she’s pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. She wants market-based reform in health care and says mental health reform “must be a priority.”
Also from her site, “As a native of Duplin County, I understand how critical agriculture is to North Carolina’s economy, our farmers, and our consumers. Unfortunately, our farmers — especially those in the pork and poultry industries — are under attack and this is absolutely unacceptable. By engaging farmers to fully understand the challenges they face and the resources they need to continue providing sustainable resources, we will make agriculture a top priority in Washington.”
• Candidate: Matthew Ridenhour.
• Party, residence: Republican from Charlotte.
• Notable: Ridenhour’s website states his position for cutting taxes; spending and debt; immigration; abortion; fixing Veterans Affairs; auditing the Federal Reserve; and foreign policy.
On the VA, he says on the website, “I stand with President Trump on his initiative to fix the VA healthcare system. As your congressman, I will advocate tirelessly for better healthcare for our men and women who serve.”
• Candidate: Stony Rushing.
• Party, residence: Republican from Wingate.
• Notable: He embraces photo opportunities wearing an all-white suit with cowboy hat, much like the character Jefferson Davis “Boss” Hogg wore on the CBS television show “The Dukes of Hazzard” that aired from 1979 to 1985. The show was also famous for the orange 1969 Dodger Charger with a Confederate flag on the roof.
Rushing is supported by Harris. Of the absentee ballots, Rushing says they were not handled properly by both parties. He requested an FBI probe into the state Board of Elections in December.
Rushing, who owns Take Aim Training Range, has several National Rifle Association certifications. He has said he will support President Trump’s agenda and align with the hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus.
• Candidate: Fern Shubert.
• Party, residence: Republican from Marshville.
• Notable: She’s a former state senator and her party’s whip, and was once a candidate for governor against Mike Easley in 2004.
Shubert served three terms in the state House.
Her time in Raleigh ended in the 2010 election cycle, when Tommy Tucker of Waxhaw defeated her in the May primary. An accountant, she ran for state auditor in 2012.
• Candidate: Dr. Albert Lee Wiley Jr.
• Party, residence: Republican from Atlantic Beach.
• Notable: Wiley is a retired physician in Carteret County, practicing part-time as a cancer specialist. He’s run for Congress several times over the last 35 years, including his seventh try in 2016; all have been self-funded.
His connection to the district is that he is a Forest City native. He’s said he agrees with President Dwight Eisenhower’s statement, “Politics should be every U.S. citizen’s avocation.”
• Candidate: Chris Anglin.
• Party, residence: Republican from Raleigh.
• Notable: Anglin is known for last year switching parties and hopping into the N.C. Supreme Court race late. Many believe his decision split votes with incumbent Barbara Jackson, helping Democrats win the seat with Anita Earles.
From his website, he says, “I am running as Constitutional Conservative who will stand up for the rule of law, free and fair trade, fiscal responsibility, opportunity for all, science, our environment and for democracy around the world.”
• Candidate: Dan Bishop.
• Party, residence: Republican from Charlotte.
• Notable: He’s serving as a state senator for District 39. He’s also most known as author of the controversial House Bill 2, otherwise known as the “Bathroom Bill.”
His website doesn’t mention HB2 in the introduction, but it does say, “Dan led the fight to put the Voter ID Constitutional Amendment on the ballot last November and has been A rated by the NRA for protecting our Second Amendment rights.” And, “Dan cut or eliminated state income taxes on 99 percent of North Carolina families, and he voted to punish sanctuary cities that harbor illegal aliens.”
• Candidate: Leigh Thomas Brown.
• Party, residence: Republican from Harrisburg.
• Notable: Thomas is a real estate agent and motivational speaker, and she says on her website she is not a career politician.
She says, “In Washington, I will be a strong ally for President Trump and his America First agenda that has benefitted all Americans.” Her website says she has experience as a CEO with “real-world jobs and experiences — just like you. I’ve signed both sides of the check and I know what it takes to get businesses moving and create job opportunities.”
• Candidate: Kathie C. Day.
• Party, residence: Republican from Cornelius.
• Notable: Day is a broker in real estate, owner of Kathie Day & Associates Realty.
• Candidate: Gary Dunn.
• Party, residence: Republican from Matthews.
• Notable: He offered an 11-point campaign platform, then made it 12 on Monday. Among the highlights in the first five are freeing all prisoners with marijuana-related arrests and re-creating the Works Progress Administration (1935, President Roosevelt) and CCE; elimination of mandatory insurance for health, cars, homes and banks; removing television ads for big pharmacies, insurance companies and legal work.
He also wants to legalize prostitution. His original last item was, “Change the paradigms that cause generational poverty.”
The 12th item added Monday was to allow cellphone voting.
• Candidate: Allen Smith.
• Party, residence: Green Party, from Charlotte.
• Notable: On his Twitter page, Smith says he’s an “area dad. Running for Congress to help us fix our broken and corrupt systems, reclaim the future, and save the planet while we’re at it. Puns on demand.”
His website says, “This is our country. Join our movement. Help us reclaim the future. It will take all of us working together. But working together is what we do best. We can do this.”
• Candidate: Jeff Scott.
• Party, residence: Libertarian Party, from Charlotte.
• Notable: The California transplant says on his website he’s the only candidate in the race that is anti-war, anti-corruption and anti-surveillance.
He also pens a letter about the “Veteran’s Administration,” though it is probably meant to be about the department formally known as Veterans Affairs. In it, he says the VA should serve veterans, not administrators.
