#NC-02: Tim D’Annunzio testing the waters?
Or at least someone appears to be doing it for him. Phone polling was conducted yesterday throughout the Second Congressional District with a lot of questions mentioning the wealthy Hoke County businessman in connection with Renee Ellmers and other potential candidates in the US House Republican primary.
You may remember D’Annunzio from his run for the 8th district in 2010 (which featured a major tiff between him and then-NCGOP chairman Tom Fetzer), his run for the 4th in 2012, and his US Senate Libertarian primary run in 2014. In 2010, he lost a runoff to Harold Johnson. In 2012, he was the GOP nominee against David Price. In 2014, he lost the Libertarian nomination to Sean Haugh.
I talked with a political pro who got called by the pollsters:
”That was expensive. You don’t commission something like that on a whim. D’Annunzio has a big fat wallet he can open up and dump into this race — making it even more interesting. His bank account makes him someone to take very seriously in the Republican field for that seat.”
If he makes the leap, D’Annunzio would be the FIFTH candidate in the GOP field for the Second. (We haven’t heard about any Democrats yet.) Chatham County’s Jim Duncan, Ellmers, 2014 primary candidate Frank Roche, and conservative activist Kay Daly are already signaling their interest in the race.
Another perennial candidate like Roche. Why do these people run all the time?
I think Roche needs the attention, and D’Annunzio has the money.
Does he live in the district (not that it really matters)? I don’t think he is Republican….
I would rather that D’Annunzio shoot for an even more liberal primary target – Richard ”Tricky Dick” Burr.
Burr has two challengers…albeit, not well-heeled…already, he should go next door to the 13th district. Plenty of folks there are fed up with Congressman “send me to Washington and I’ll cut, cut, cut spending.”
i agree he needs to come to George Rino Holding’s district. The guy who repeatedly states he will cut,cut, cut, federal spending. But does the exact opposite. George lost a lot of his support being a staunch Boehner ally and voting for things like the cromnibus. He is ripe for someone to call him out on his lies!
“In 2014, he lost the Libertarian nomination to Sean Haugh”
ENOUGH SAID!!
As anyone paying attention in 2010 knows, D’Annunzio is a loon.
At least that was the party line of Tom Fetzer in 2010 after D’Annunzio ran first in the primary and was in a runoff with the second placed candidate, and Fetzer violated the NCGOP Plan of Organization to endorse that second placed candidate and proclaim D’Annunzio unfit for any office. I think Fetzer mainly did not want a Tea Party nominee. It turned out in the general election that it was the candidate who Fetzer endorsed who was the awful candidate.
D’Annunzio would undoubtedly have a better voting record than most of the present NC delegation, House and Senate, and that is what matters.
However, we already have a good challenger in NC2 next year in Jim Duncan, and we do not need to crowd the field if we want to beat Ellmers.
Nice try, but that was more than simply Fetzer and the elites. Ask anyone who has ever been in the same room with D’Annunzio whether they think the guy is a loon and then get back to me.
D’Annunzio should keep his powder dry and watch the primary, If Ellmers slips in as GOP nominee, then he should get on the ballot by petition as an independent conservative, If conservatives beat her then he could look at getting on by petition as a conservative independent against Burr if Burr survives the primary.