One of the surprises of candidate filing this time around was the return of Greg Brannon. He’s seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Richard Burr, having filed his candidacy in the last hours before the filing deadline. Brannon is definitely someone in the “Tea Party” mold, or as he would say, a constitutional conservative.

So does he have a chance at seizing the Republican nomination from Burr in March?

Not really. To do so, he’s really going to have to get his message out there. That means a lot of money. It’s going to be even more difficult to do with a competitive presidential race and skyrocketing ad rates. Those who are looking to “primary” incumbents have picked a very expensive year to do it in, Brannon included.

Moreover, despite talk to the contrary, the conservative base isn’t clamoring for a Burr alternative. Public Policy Polling did a poll testing the senator against Rep. Mark Meadows, an anti-establishment hero. Burr led 62/9.

Even if there was a whole lot of anti-Burr sentiment among the base, Brannon is probably the wrong candidate to take advantage of it. The ethical issues from last year (involving accusations that he deliberately misled investors for a tech start-up) are still hanging over his head.

Brannon is certainly the strongest of Burr’s primary challengers but that’s not saying much. It will be interesting to see how the Burr campaign handles him. The McCrory campaign’s response to Robert Brawley was to go nuclear. It’s possible the Burr camp will just ignore him. Either way, I imagine Brannon will have trouble replicating the 27% of the vote he won back in 2014.

9 Comments

  1. Stan Wainwright

    Did not Burr say he would vote for Bernie over Cruz? What a sicko [Burr, of course].

  2. Stan Wainwright

    All I wanted to know was info about his status as a doctor. Impossible to find, but, it is key [ease of discovery] to his path to the U.S. Senate. Too much how and not enough what.Come on! Make it easier for folks to initially get to know you. Tea party conservative constitutional republican [anti-establishment] — That is me.

  3. Ebrun

    Sorry, D.g., but the only place Sen. Burr is likely to go in this election cycle is back to the Senate for another term. Sen Burr, to coin an oft use description, is a work horse rather than a show horse. He holds a critical position as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and strongly opposes those who would weaken America’s intelligence gathering capability, including neo isolationists like Rann Paul. North Carolina is fortunate to have such a patriotic and hard working Senator.

  4. independate

    If you notice he voted no the budget because he up for reelection otherwise he would have voted for it

  5. independate

    Every incumbent needs to to be replaced

    • guest

      Agreed!

  6. Dennis Laughlin

    Mr. Brannon must have a lot of free time on his hands. I’m sticking with Richard Burr, a fine man and senator, we are lucky to have him.

  7. TY Thompson

    “the conservative base isn’t clamoring for a Burr alternative. Public Policy Polling did a poll testing the senator against Rep. Mark Meadows, an anti-establishment hero. Burr led 62/9.”

    Maybe. But that isn’t a very reputable polling group.

  8. Ebrun

    Brannon is political loser. Can’t believe he is challenging a two-term GOP incumbent with a moderately conservative voting record and the Chairman of an important Senate committee. Sen. Burr should just ignore Brannon’s candidacy.

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