North Carolina; I Would Totally Vote There

Andy Millard battling it out with an increasingly weird Patrick McHenry

by Tracy B Ann

In a perfect world there would be no
urinals and it wouldn't matter who used
what bathroom.

I would have to go to the bathroom before I left my house to vote though, just in case. I don’t wait in line for bathrooms, I use whatever is available and I don't read “stick figure” too well.

If I were to vote I’d have a lot of good choices. May 12th is the deadline to register for voting in the June 7th Congressional Primary. One thing I like about John McNeal, candidate for the 2nd congressional district in NC, is that he provides all this voter information on his website. I like a candidate who focus’s on voter registration.

John McNeil is a veteran of the Marine Corps. Stationed at Camp Lejeune as a Scout with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, he remained with 2nd LAR throughout his enlistment, eventually achieving the rank of Sergeant. He participated in the Panama Invasion, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm.

John McNeil (NC-02)

He attended North Carolina public universities to achieve a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and attended law school at Wake Forest University. He currently owns and operate a law firm and mediation service in Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s got some impressive endorsements here and you can read his stance on issues here. I find it refreshing to have a candidate with opinions on the military, veterans, world affairs and student loans who knows exactly what he’s talking about. His donation link is here.

David Hurst is running in North Carolina’s 3rd district. He has a strong focus on protecting local jobs, especially those of the local fisherman. They seem to be regulated in a way that favors big fishing vessels over local fisherman and wealthy developers over local fishing rights.

He has some unconventional ideas about money, the minimum wage, and taxes. His campaign is self funded. He doesn’t seem to go negative against anyone and thinks it’s time for lawmakers to stop bickering and do their jobs.

David Hurst (NC-03)

David Hurst won my heart with this quote from the Daily Advance:

"'We spend too much on toys and not enough on military servicemen and women,' he said. Hurst said many local service members are on welfare because their salaries are too low. That’s unacceptable, he said. 'Why does the guy who sells the bullet make more than the guy who fires the bullet, or is ready to take one (for his country)?' Hurst said."

In the 8th district it’s Thomas Mills. The first thing that impressed me about him was that when he saw no one was running against the current Republican Congressman he stepped in at literally the last minute.

Thomas Mills (NC-08)

He calls himself a "reluctant candidate." I call him a good example of what should be happening in every district in the US. So in one way, who cares what he thinks about issues? He’s a Democrat on the ballot, something a lot of people don’t get to see on their ballots.

Better than just that though, he seems like a good candidate. He has his own blog, Politics North Carolina (and I like it, it’s good!)

Mills emphasizes rural working class issues; infrastructure, schools, jobs he has a Marshall plan to “connect small towns and counties to economic centers with pavement and rail as well as with fiber and cell towers.”

He has a lot of experience working political campaigns and sounds like exactly the representative his district needs. Donate here.

Christian Cano (NC-09)

Christian Cano is running in North Carolina's 9th district and I want to openly admit that I jumped to misjudge him. Partly because of the hat he wears and partly because of my dyslexia, I read his website as "A Christian for Congress" not realizing his first name was Christian. And I think he is a Christian, but makes it very clear that there needs to be a strong separation between church and state.

His message is of neighbors, neighbors, neighbors. Bringing them together and making sure they’re treated right. He is a fierce defender of equal rights for all, outspoken against any kind of discrimination at all. I mean any kind; age, race, gender. He has no interest in what bathroom people use. On abortion he says that while he is personally Pro-Life:

“...my stand on issues will never be based on my personal and religious beliefs. I firmly believe in the Constitution and its amendments...”

He seems wicked smart and funny too. You can get a real feel for him from his Facebook page and he’s got dog and cat video’s there. How can you not love that? Donate here. There more I learn about him, the more I like him and his hat.

Andy Millard is running in the 10th district. A former teacher, he now has a financial planning business. He says you can’t run government like a business because it has a different mission. He says:

"Congress used to prioritize on the well-being of our citizens and our nation. But we lost our way a while back and we must find it again."

His Facebook page is here and you can contribute to his campaign her. I’ll let him speak for himself:



Rick Bryson is running in North Carolina’s CD 11. His focus is on infrastructure and local issues because, well, "all politics is local." He is a proponent of universal health care, a huge defender of public education, and an advocate for veterans:

"Sadly, the veterans’ experience in returning to civilian life has not been without speed bumps. They have been ignored, lied to, passed over too many times by the Veterans Administration. Just ask one . . . almost any one of them. They know."

Rick Bryson (NC-11)

He wants an “economic revival” for Western North Carolina including roads to get people there. Bryson serves on his towns Board of Aldermen. That town is Bryson city where his dad was once Mayor and the town is named after one of his ancestors.

He likes blunt talk and one of my favorite quotes of his is “shoe leather trumps money”. That sounds like something Dr. Ferguson Reid from 90for90 would say and that’s what all these candidates have in common, they are supporters of 90for90, a voter registration movement started to honor Dr. Reid, the first black man elected to the VA Assembly since Reconstruction. I don’t have a litmus test for candidates but if I did this would be it-- they have to strongly support voter registration, and honor those who fought so hard to get voting rights for all.

You can donate to Rick Bryson here.

Another supporter of 90for90 is Linda Coleman, who is running for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. She has a lot of political experience from being a Wake County Commissioner for 4 years, to being elected for 3 terms to the North Carolina General Assembly to being the Director of the Office of State Personnel.

She ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2012 and lost by only .02%, Reminding me of what Dr. Reid says, “Every election is a dress rehearsal for the next.” I liked that she didn’t immediately concede.

She is passionate about education from pre K to college, rebuilding the economy and the environment. She wants safe energy options and better mass transit. You can donate here.

Even the kids want in. The Wake Forest University College Dems (NC) are members of 90for90 as well. Sebastian Ivory heads this group and this group has good ideas and a great logo; though I have to say they missed out on a wonderful opportunity for fun with their school license plate. Still, they support voter registration and that’s good enough for me.

The Chair of the North Carolina State Party, Patsy Keever is an old friend of DWT and a 90for90 supporter which shows me that North Carolina really cares about voter registration and the more people register to vote the more Democrats win. Works every time!

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NOTE: None of these candidates above have been vetted or endorsed by DownWithTyranny or Blue America yet, although we are in the middle of discussions with Andy Millard, whose opponent is the villainous Patrick McHenry. Andy has been making a very good impression on us-- and you probably already know a good deal about the odious McHenry.