North Carolina Primaries: Pittenger Falls, 9th Shifts Toward Democrats
May 8, 2018 · 11:10 PM EDT
2nd District (George Holding, R, re-elected 57%). Trump 53%. Former state personnel director/former state Rep. Linda Coleman won the Democratic nomination over tech entrepreneur Ken Romley and will face the incumbent Republican in the general election. The race has been included in the broadest discussion of competitive seats, but Coleman’s nomination might complicate Democratic chances. Romley’s personal money (he contributed $360,000 through April 18) was part of the Democratic scenario, considering Holding is personally wealthy. Rating: Solid R.
3rd District (Walter Jones, R, re-elected 67%). Trump 61%. Jones is a perennial target in the primary since he often bucks the party line. The congressman was renominated on Tuesday with 40 percent over Phil Law (30 percent) and Scott Dacey (28 percent). Two years ago, Jones defeated Law 65-20 percent. In 2014, the congressman won the primary with 51 percent. Jones should be fine in the general election. Rating: Solid R.
9th District (Open; Robert Pittenger, R, lost renomination). Trump 54%. After losing the 2016 primary by just 134 votes, Rev. Mark Harris ousted Pittenger on Tuesday, putting the seat at more risk for Republicans. Harris had $71,000 in his campaign account on April 18. Democrat Dan McCready unsurprisingly won his primary, and he enters the general election with $1.2 million in the bank. Democrats were already psyched about McCready given his profile as a Marine veteran and founder of a solar energy investment company. Given recent special election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona, open seats are proving to be a challenge for Republicans to hold in this political climate. At a minimum, it looks like the NRCC is now going to have to spend money defending this seat and bailing out Harris. We’re changing our rating from Likely R to Tilt R, but it could move further toward Democrats in the months ahead.
11th District (Mark Meadows, R, re-elected 64%). Trump 63%. The House Freedom Caucus Chairman was renominated with 86 percent and shouldn’t have a problem getting re-elected in November. Rating: Solid R.
13th District (Ted Budd, R, re-elected 56%). Trump 53%. As expected, wealthy UNCG Trustee/philanthropist Kathy Manning will face the incumbent Republican in the general election. Manning has proven to be a good fundraiser and had $1 million in the bank on April 18 compared to $535,000 for Budd. This could develop into more serious GOP headache as well. Rating: Likely R.