The race in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District is getting interesting–on both sides of the primary. While conventional wisdom says that it’s a safe bet that another Republican will replace retiring Congressman Howard Coble, the GOP primary field is crowded and contentious. There are nine candidates and none of them are blowing the doors off of fundraising.
Phil Berger, Jr. has the advantage right now purely because of his father’s name recognition. However, he’s run an underwhelming campaign and he looks and sounds like a canned candidate. As I’ve said before, he’s a walking talking point.
Only three candidates have raised more than $200,000 and Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny won the quarter by raising $165,000, over $50,000 more than his nearest GOP opponent. In addition, he leads with cash-on-hand at the time when candidates start communicating with voters. He may emerge as the anti-Berger in a race that is almost certain to go to a runoff.
On the Democratic side, Laura Fjeld continues to put up impressive numbers. She has out-raised the entire field, with $350,000 and more than $200,000 cash-on-hand. Unfortunately for her, she will have to spend some of it to get through a primary.
Which leads to her primary opponent. Bruce Davis is a Guilford County Commissioner and perennial candidate for higher office. He’s not raised enough money to make himself a viable candidate but he sure is making some strange claims.
In an interview on WXII, Davis brags about being the more conservative candidate. That’s not a wise move in a Democratic primary since primaries tend to attract more ideological voters. Then, Davis says that Republican Howard Coble urged him to run. Essentially, he’s bragging about being a Republican stalking horse, someone recruited to siphon off resources from a more viable candidate.
Davis may be a great county commissioner, but he’s not a very savvy politician. And he’s certainly not ready to be the Democratic nominee for Congress. Fjeld, on the other hand, might give Republicans a fight.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
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