This came a day after Dale Folwell, the incumbent State Treasurer, filed with the Board of Elections to make his bid for Governor official, which means that, at least as of this morning… there are no serious Republicans in this race.
Now, one thing I’ve learned in politics—especially North Carolina politics—is that you should never get too comfortable with the state of a race. Our elections are like our weather, if you wait five minutes something will change. In between the time I hit send on this email and the time you open it, someone serious could file. But for just this moment, while the wind is blowing at our backs, let’s reflect on what this means for our campaign.
You don’t hop races at the last minute because you feel that strong of a call to service. No, this is the move of someone who was looking for an easy way into a higher-profile elected office and who realized that he was on a harder path than he thought. We’ve known for months that the 8th Congressional District was going to be an open seat, and Bradford could have jumped ship to it at any time if he really felt compelled toward that office.
Of course, months ago, he hadn’t seen everything that the Wesley Harris for State Treasurer campaign had to offer.
In other words, this is the move of someone who looked at the money we’ve raised, the endorsements we’ve received, and our grassroots strength from the Mountains to the Sea and jumped ship because he realized running against me wasn’t going to be the easy ticket to a statewide job that he’d hoped it would be.
But Bradford being out of this race doesn’t mean we get to rest on our laurels. Regardless of whether or not a more serious opponent files this week, it’s absolutely critical that we continue to run a serious campaign. In a race like this, one that’s toward the bottom of the ballot and where we’re not always going to get a lot of media attention because of that (especially in a Presidential year), if we don’t keep giving this race 110%, a cardboard cutout Republican can absolutely win in North Carolina.
(I mean, look at Ted Budd. I’m pretty sure the GOP just had him stored away in a broom closet somewhere and now he’s a US Senator.)
So regardless of what my opposition in the general election looks like, now is the time to double down on our efforts. I’ve spent the last nine months getting out into every corner of North Carolina and making sure that voters know that if they want a state government that has their backs, they need to elect a Treasurer who will invest in their communities, and that’s exactly what I’m going to keep doing from here until election day.
The wind is at our backs this morning, but that could very easily change.
John, but at least for the moment, this makes our race the MOST likely seat on the Council of State to flip from red to blue next year—meaning it’s one of our BEST opportunities to materially improve the lives our neighbors. But I can’t make that happen without your support. We need the resources to reach EVERY voter that we can and make sure that we flip this seat—so can I count on you to contribute $25, $50, or anything you can this morning?
