Jones-Griffin Race Another Front in GOP Civil War

by | Nov 2, 2015 | 2016 Elections, Carolina Strategic Analysis, Features, NC Politics, NCGOP, US House | 3 comments

North Carolina’s own Representative Walter Jones was a thorn in the side of the GOP leadership under John Boehner. And while Boehner might have been replaced by Paul Ryan, Jones is not letting up. Jones refused to join other anti-establishment figures like Mark Meadows, who eventually came around to Speaker Ryan. Instead, Jones voted for Daniel Webster.

In today’s political environment, will Jones pay a price for his rightward stances? In a word, no. While Paul Ryan isn’t a reviled figure with the conservative base (yet), there are quite a few Republicans who will vote for the most anti-establishment candidate, just to be on the safe side.

That’s good news for Rep. Jones, who is facing a stiff primary challenge from Taylor Griffin, whom he narrowly defeated in the 2014 primary. Griffin is going after Jones on issues of ideology, referring to him as a “Pelosi Republican” and someone too liberal for Eastern North Carolina. Griffin, intent on not being depicted as a Washington insider, sent out a tweet giving Ryan guarded praise.

The Jones-Griffin race is another front in the GOP civil war going on nationwide. A decade ago, conservatives set out to purge the party of heretics like Lincoln Chaffee. The question was “Who is most conservative?” Now the moderates are almost all gone. The victorious conservatives of a decade ago now make up the bulk of the Beltway establishment today. The question now is, “Who is less of an insider?”

Because of that, you have Donald Trump topping the Republican primary polls and Walter Jones holding strong in the 3rd district, despite stances that ten years ago would have rendered them DOA in a Republican primary with a credible challenger. Ideology matters less because more and more Republicans feel like their candidates are lying to them – giving lip service to conservative ideas and then discarding them when they get to Washington.

The bottom line? Voters in the 3rd district might be willing to overlook some of Jones’ unorthodox positions simply because of his outsider status – a mantle that very few 20+ year veterans of Washington can claim. Recently, he’s polished his anti-establishment credentials with his “misdeeds” letter and his opposition to Paul Ryan as Speaker. Despite not being a conventional politician, over the past month Jones has shown political savvy.

The good news for Jones’ primary opponent, Taylor Griffin? The race will be in March and will coincide with the presidential primary. That means the electorate will be less “activist” and the Republicans who turn out more mainstream. They might be more receptive to a message of Jones-as-liberal-Pelosi-Republican.

The trick will be convincing enough voters that Griffin will be just as anti-establishment as the incumbent. As the events of the past month have made clear, that will be tough to do.

3 Comments

  1. Tom Hill

    In regard to your comment that “Mark Meadows … eventually came around to Speaker Ryan”. According to Meadows own site, he did not vote for Ryan, but instead voted for the right-wing Congressman from Florida.

  2. TY Thompson

    Good luck with that “Pelosi Republican” thing, Griff. Pelosi likes Ryan, she LOVES the budget that just passed, and Jones is going to shout that from the rooftops and then cruise to victory in March. And, oh yeah, Griffin is going to have to deal with that carpetbagger charge, too. He’s from Wilson which is definitely not in Walter Jones district. Dunno how “politically savvy” Jones really is, but Griffin sure isn’t showing much of that.

  3. Apply Liberally

    Back when Manny Ramirez, one of the best MLB hitters in recent decades, did strange things on the baseball field (like fighting with teammates in the dugout during games, not running out infield ground balls, playing the field with a water bottle in his pocket, and disappearing into Fenway Park’s Green Monster scoreboard during pitching changes), the saying, used by Boston fans, apologists, and even announcers at ESPN, was “That’s just Manny being Manny.”

    Well, John, your stating “Despite not being a conventional politician, over the past month Jones has shown political savvy” prompts me to not only to disagree but to recall that saying about Ramirez. Jones doesn’t do “political savvy.” He simply continues to plod along, carrying out an eccentric, “religion first,” and creepy act as Congress’ “Mr. Weird.”

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