National and statewide issues notwithstanding, this area has some electoral outcomes worth watching and at least one that is on the national radar.
1) Rouzer/McIntyre – Multi-term incumbent Congressman Mike McIntyre is in the political fight of his career. Part of that is due to redistricting, which made the 7th district more Republican, but there has been a massive amount of money spent on this race which is normally dominated by McIntyre’s side of the aisle. State Senator David Rouzer, the republican challenger, has made strong inroads toward defeating McIntyre and has forced the incumbent to run hard to the right. It’s still McIntyre’s to lose, but this will be close.
2) Baseball – Conventional wisdom is that that taxpayer funded baseball stadium will be an epic failure at the polls tomorrow. If the spread is greater than 60-40 expect lots of public angst will turn on the Wilmington City Council and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce for being so out of touch. This issue is a luxury desire in a time of eating bread on the streets. It has illustrated how far removed the council is from the citizenry and how far removed the Chamber is from the business interests.
3) Goolsby/Butler – Freshman Republican NC Senator Thom Goolsby has always been unapologetically conservative. And in Wilmington, that drew the ire of local attorney Democrat Deb Butler. The race was always going to be contentious, but Butler’s ad featuring a transvaginal wand as a statement against informed consent law garnered state and national attention. Tons of money has been spent on this race and enough mailers have been sent to keep an incinerator busy for a while. This will be closer than many people thought.
4) New Hanover County Commission – No doubt Brian Berger’s personal life became a central focus of the county commission of the past year. And come Wednesday Berger may find himself the most experienced member of the board. Democrat Jonathan Barfield is the lone commissioner running for re-election. Six candidates are vying for three seats. With a Republican sweep and Rick Catlin exiting the board, with a win, to the NC House, the GOP could have a lock on the commission. That would mean that Republicans Woody White, Derrick Hickey and Beth Dawson would be the new majority. But Barfield garnered enough votes in 2008, will he be able to do so again? Rob Zapple has also run hard, but will the Democrats show up in this cycle. Longshot Democrat candidate Robert Murray has also worked hard. Lots of implications here, other than White, no telling who might prevail tomorrow evening.
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