As we’re approaching the filing deadline, more and more people are starting to announce their candidacies. Yesterday, two Democratic women announced they were running for state legislative seats in Wake County. Neither of the seats are solidly Republican so they should be on one’s radar.

First, freshman legislator Gary Pendleton (R) is getting a challenge from Democrat Cynthia Ball, a certified mediator. Pendleton has already raised $102,000 for his campaign in what should be a competitive race. This is a swing district and one of the few Romney/Hagan seats out there.

The second announcement came from Susan Evans. She’s running for Senate District 17, currently occupied by Republican Tamara Barringer. Evans is a member of the Wake County Board of Education. Though her initial term in that office was supposed to expire in 2013, the legislature graciously extended her term so that they could triple-bunk her with two other liberals. Evans has probably decided that winning a State Senate seat would be easier than getting reelected to her reconfigured seat.

If that’s the calculation, she’s probably correct. While both SD-17 and her school board seat went for Tillis last year, his margin in the Senate district was more narrow. Evans’ chances here would increase if this was an open-seat race: Tamara Barringer has the right profile for the district and was reelected handily last year. Barringer has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Treasurer, so there’s at least an outside chance for an open-seat situation.

No matter what, Republicans will be prepared to use Evans’ controversial tenure on the Board against her. A big fan of Moral Mondays and the Rev. William Barber, Evans is like a more ideological version of Deborah Ross. Her animosity toward neighborhood schools is well-documented and could be an obstacle in winning this largely suburban district.

Or, as GOP Senate caucus director Ray Martin stated: “Susan Evans is an intolerant liberal cultural warrior who hates neighborhood schools and has shown utter contempt for parents who send their kids to those schools. We’ll make sure she doesn’t take her war on Wake’s students statewide.”

Whoa.

John Wynne

John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.