NC-02: In home stretch, Roche making big gains on the ground
The GOP primary in the 2nd congressional district is really looking interesting. Low-budget, upstart primary challenger Frank Roche has been racking up some serious straw poll wins within the district against incumbent Renee Ellmers. (Average Roche victory? 2 to 1.)
Ellmers’ campaign treasury is stuffed with big dollars from lobbyists and other special interests — dwarfing Roche’s dollars. She can afford to load the airwaves up with commercials lying about her less-than-stellar voting record. Mark Zuckerberg’s pro-amnesty PAC tried that — and the straw poll victories and endorsements kept rolling in for Roche.
Tea Party organizations in Randolph and Moore counties have endorsed Roche. Roche has won FOUR out of FIVE straw polls in the district — the latest being a 64-35 victory at the 2nd congressional district convention this weekend. Former Moore County chairman Bob Levy — the most recent past county party chairman — has endorsed Roche. Now, it appears former Harnett County GOP chairman Danny Moody — the most recent past county party chairman — has put his stamp of approval on Roche. The significance? Harnett is Ellmers’ home county. And Moody’s 12 year term included Ellmers’ first election victory in 2010 and her 2012 reelection.
In the May 2012 primary, Ellmers fended off three under-funded, lesser-known primary challengers. She lost Randolph County to Richard Speer (who didn’t even live in the district), and had a much-closer-than-expected win in Moore County. 
She’s only got ONE primary opponent this year, and he’s a much more polished, attractive candidate than the three she faced two years ago. Ellmers has helped Roche tremendously by tightly embracing the amnesty issue, and doing things like fighting on-air with Laura Ingraham and screeching on-camera at constituents.
This race is a no-brainer. Ellmers is the candidate of the Washington, DC cabal while Roche is the candidates of the North Carolina grassroots.
Raphael, I agree…I’m in Harnett County and this past Friday I voted for Frank Roche and Greg Brannon. Renee Ellmers might have the money but she’ll never get my support or vote. If either, Greg Brannon or Frank Roche, lose in their respective races I hope one of them will run against Richard Burr; he’s in the cabal.
Ellmers and the DC crowd is counting on a sure thing. The conservatives talk Loud and take no one to the polls. She has enough money to convince everyone on TV that she is not for amnesty, leaving the Tea Party scratching their head and doing nothing.
Elmer’s 55%
Roche 45%
Big Money DC will sell Renee is not for amnesty and buy the election.
I”m afraid James is right, money will buy her the win, I hope to be proven wrong,
In case you missed the News & Record piece –
Ellmers said if there’s one thing she could accomplish in Washington, it would be resolving how to treat an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally and around whom many businesses have designed their destinies
Ellmers advocates a formula the GOP House leadership advanced in January, allow them to stay in the country if they paid a fine without qualifying for citizenship.
Ellmers raised $321,872 in the year’s first quarter, almost 80 percent of that from political action committees representing dermatologists, bankers, pharmaceutical companies and other interests. Ellmers said PACs are helping her campaign because they agree with her conservative principals and she works on a House commerce committee. She tied her support from business interests to jobs for her district..
and then this quote “”The money that I raise through the PACs are with industry and those are jobs. That’s who’s going to grow the economy. That is who will be helping to hire more into the future. If I receive the support from those industries, I’m helping every North Carolinian,”
http://www.news-record.com/news/north_carolina_ap/article_920a6365-0613-50c5-9773-45b89257fb2b.html
Such arrogance, even if she wins, what kind of a response will she get in the district? She won’t care but I don’t see her getting a favorable reception from the little people.
If you want to send a message to DC, then what is the problem? Roche is conservative and an economist. He is more than qualified for the job and he is anti-amnesty. The fact that he is being supported by the grassroots means he will not be co-opted in DC. But the real kicker is Ellmers has been bought and paid for by the GOP leadership.
Ellmer$ is a rent girl for the $pecial interest$. North Carolina can do better!
If Ellmers only got 56% against 3 challengers last time how is she going to do better this time? I dont think an ad that talks about a broken immigration system will convince people that she is against amnesty. I think Ellmers should have either said nothing on immigration or just lied and claimed to a hardass on the issue. “Immigration reform” and “broken system” are toxic terms to some Republican primary voters. Both times Roche ran he got the 40%+.
Assuming Ellmers wins the primary narrowly I would suggest voting for the Democrat. Hopefully she loses in November and we can get a conservative in the district in 2016. Otherwise she will be able to hold the seat for a decade voting like a liberal.
This is what is happening on Staten Island. Michael Grimm is the third most liberal Republican in Congress. He got in because he was an unknown. Assuming Michael Grimm wins in November this young gun will be hogging that seat until 2024 or 2030 as a career politician voting like a liberal. But if Grimm gets take out by a Democrat. In 2016 there will be an open Republican primary where you have a better chance of installing a conservative than against an incumbent.
There’s 233 House Republicans. After November the Republicans will gain most of these seats: NC7, UT4, AZ1, AZ2, NH1, NH2, MA6, FL18, NH18 and OH14.
Whether Republicans have 230 or 238 House seats after November doesn’t make much difference. But if we are able to punish RINO’s by any vote necessary the others will be more likely to vote conservative. In 2016, 24 GOP Senators will need to fight off primary attacks.