New Reports: North Carolina GOP Primary Turning Into “A Brutal Fight For The Nomination”

GOP Infighting Creates “Bruising Primary” In Critical Seat As Candidates Attempt To Become “Most Trump-Like”

McCrory “Already Taking Heat” From Primary Opponents

New reporting from Politico and The Salisbury Post on the North Carolina Senate race highlights how the Republican primary is “likely to be a brutal fight for the nomination” as candidates compete to be the “most ‘Trump-like’:” 

• Failed politician and “sore loser” McCrory is “already taking heat from other Republicans” who say “he is out of step with the current base of the party;”

• Primary rival Mark Walker “took a swing at McCrory” and pointed out that “if Pat wasn’t good enough for Trump’s administration, he’s not good enough for NC;” 

• Other Republican candidates “see an opening against McCrory” because of his past criticism of former President Trump;

• The brutal infighting that has already consumed the GOP field is already “creating a potentially bruising primary in a critical seat.”

Read more about the “ugly” North Carolina Republican primary fight: 

Salisbury Post: Political Notebook: Bitzer expects most ‘Trump-like’ candidate to be favorite in state’s Senate race
By Natalie Henderson
April 19, 2021 

• Following news last week that former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is “all in” for the 2022 U.S. Senate race, Catawba College politics professor Michael Bitzer says he expects the most Trump-like candidate to be the popular choice among voters.

• Bitzer said a pending decision from Trump’s daughter-in-law and North Carolina native Lara Trump could shake things up as the base of the Republican party is “very much still behind Trump.”

• In the final year of his term as governor, McCrory faced backlash from numerous organizations and negative economic consequences due to the fight over House Bill 2, a “bathroom bill” known primarily for prohibiting local authorities from expanding their own nondiscrimination ordinances. 

POLITICO: North Carolina primary field builds, with or without Lara Trump 
By James Arkin
April 17, 2021

• The Republican Senate primary in North Carolina has been essentially frozen for months as Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, publicly considered a bid in her native state.

• Former Gov. Pat McCrory, who won the governorship in 2012 but was ousted four years later, launched a bid Wednesday, becoming the second prominent Republican in the race, alongside former Rep. Mark Walker. And Rep. Ted Budd and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson are seriously considering running, creating a potentially bruising primary in a critical seat.

• Now, others are jockeying for early position to replace retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr. It’s likely to be one of the most expensive and competitive races on the Senate map next year.

• McCrory… [is] already taking heat from other Republicans, who criticized his 2016 defeat and say he is out of step with the current base of the party.

• It’s likely to be a brutal fight for the nomination.

• Walker took a swing at McCrory this week, while touting his own record having voted 97 percent of the time with Trump while in office.

• Other Republicans see an opening against McCrory, in particular because of comments the former governor made criticizing then-candidate Trump during the 2016 campaign following the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape.

• McCrory, who served seven terms as Charlotte mayor before running twice for governor, raised eyebrows in his launch video by declaring himself an “outsider.”

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