Blue County
Republicans, Democrats plot course for future

By Scott Nicholson

Watauga County is currently a solidly “blue” county, but political winds are ever changing and the local political parties are already charting new courses.

The traditional two political parties, as well as one emerging third, are optimistic in the wake of the general election, with Republicans expressing eagerness to bring forth fresh candidates and a new foundation. In six years, the local Republican Party went from sweeping the county commission races to not even fielding candidates for the positions.

The Democrats, meanwhile, seek to hold on to recent gains made through grassroots efforts that have extended to solidifying General Assembly seats in what have been seen as traditional Republican strongholds. Seats now held by Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93) and Sen. Steve Goss (D-45) had been in Republican hands for decades, helping launch the national political careers of U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5) and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC).

Watauga County Republican Party chairman Jim Goff said despite the loss of many local, state and national races, the party had drawn new energy and was poised to embrace a new direction.

“When all is said and done and you look at the numbers, we did quite well,” Goff said. “We had a lot of Republicans turn out, including young people. The margin of victory for the Democrats obviously concerns me, but we kept up with them in some key races.”

Of the major statewide and national-level races, Republicans carried only two of them. Incumbent N.C. agriculture commissioner Steve Troxler and labor commissioner Cherie Berry, who were the only Republicans to win North Carolina partisan races, also carried Watauga County in results that mostly mirrored statewide totals. Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory lost Watauga County by 90 votes and by 4 percent statewide to Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

“I was the most disappointed in the McCrory result, “ Goff said. “Quite frankly, I thought he was a better candidate (than Perdue).”

Goff said the energy exhibited at campaign headquarters in the two months before the election had inspired a new generation of local leaders and activists.

“We had more participation, younger people, and much stronger groundwork,” Goff said. “If we can keep those things, if we can build on them and keep those growing, then I think the election cycle was actually a gain in how we do our business.”

Goff is about to end his two-year tenure as party chairman. He said the current climate made it difficult to recruit candidates, but he’s satisfied that his time was well spent.

“We were very disorganized two years ago and didn’t reach out to different factions,” he said. “I think that has changed. I’ve been very proud of what was as the Republican Party has been able to accomplish.”

Goff acknowledged Democrats had a financial advantage “from the top down,” and as a historian and history professor, he understands the nature of cycles and shifting moods of the populace.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got to get more candidates,” Goff said. “Dan (Soucek, N.C. House candidate) was a great candidate and got his feet wet. We have some newer faces, different kinds of voices like Dan and McCrory. That’s probably the direction that will spell success for us.”

Goff also saw the recent elections as a rebound from a lackluster 2006 campaign, when the Republicans lost their two General Assembly seats in the district.

“As a county, we were much more successful than we had been,” he said. “I like to look at these from a fairly objective viewpoint. We can be successful by incremental, solid, smart decisions and fill the ballot with newer voices. I’d like to see Republicans running against each other in the primary. I hope I’ve been a part of helping open the doors.”

Watauga County Democratic Party chairwoman Diane Tilson said her party would be celebrating in December but noted, “The real work starts after the election. I think we’re going to have to give everyone a chance to settle into the new roles.”

Tilson said the party was pleased to join Buncombe as one of only two western North Carolina states to give a majority to President-elect Barack Obama.

“It was very satisfying to look on the national map and see that little patch of blue in the corner of North Carolina,” Tilson said.

She also said the party would work hard to keep the momentum sparked by newcomers and those who gained new interest in politics because of the historic presidential election.

“I don’t think we can take anything for granted,” she said. “There are still more registered Republicans than Democrats in Watauga County. I believe the shift happened because of the situation in the country right now. I think everyone was alarmed by the economic situation and everyone here felt as if there needed to be a change. Our volunteer base was energized this year.”

Jeff Cannon, Libertarian candidate for the N.C. House of Representatives, said the election was a success for his party because of changes to the statute that made it easier to launch a third party and keep it active. The party won a court decision that lowered the percentage of votes needed from 10 to 2 percent in order to stay certified. The party’s gubernatorial candidate Mike Munger got 2.9 percent of the vote.

“The Libertarian Party was recertified in June and we had to work on party organization,” Cannon said of the rule changes. “That keeps us certified so we can focus on party-building as opposed to getting petitions signed and getting back on the ballot.

“I think it was good for everybody that Libertarians were on the ballot, at least in the places they were. It’s the lesser of two evils, but I say, ‘Why would you want to vote for any evil?’ Until you change the way you vote, nothing will change.”

Cannon said Libertarians now had an opportunity for party-building, establishing an organizational structure instead of scrambling each election cycle to round up the required number of signatures for petitions. The Ashe County Libertarian Party had formed and then dissolved when the party lost certification, but Cannon feels more such county-level parties will spring forth.

“That’s where we’ve got to start, build from the ground up like the other parties, because people don’t think we’re for real,” he said.

Cannon received 4.1 percent of the vote, up from the 3.9 percent he got in 2002 in the same race and the 3.1 percent Libertarian Brandon Derr got in the 2004 N.C. House race.

While 7,157 people voted straight Democratic tickets and 6,043 voted straight Republican in Watauga County, the fastest-growing segment of voters is the unaffiliated, and that will continue to be the center where most elections will be decided.

“The independents call the day,” Goff said. “The number of new independents has surpassed us both (Democrats and Republicans). Their numbers have mushroomed, and it becomes which party can attract the largest number of independents.”

Statewide, Democrats hold a lead of 800,000 over Republicans in the number of registered voters. There are 1.4 million unaffiliated voters in North Carolina.