North Carolina's 9th congressional district was one of the first districts in the South to turn Republican. The GOP flipped this Charlotte-based district in 1953 (when it was the 10th district; it was the 8th district from 1963 to 1969 and has been the 9th since 1969) and hasn't let go ever since. The last time we even put up a fight in this district was back in 1984 and 1986, when D. G. Martin made two close runs here. He came within 321 votes of winning this district in 1984, and almost certainly would have won it if not for Ronald Reagan's landslide. Two years later, he only lost by 4,000 votes. We haven't even tried ever since--and that was even before a large slice of Charlotte got cut out and put in the 12th after the 1990 census.
Well, that's due to change. Late Monday, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts announced she's running for the seat being vacated by former Gingrich Gang member Sue Myrick.
Roberts, a longtime advocate for women and the LGBT community, has spoken out against the anti-gay marriage amendment to the N.C. Constitution that's up for vote in May and has supported educating voters about its negative ramifications on not just the LGBT community but also those in civil unions seeking workplace health benefits. Roberts also has been a proponent of public transportation, saying that creating transit projects is cheaper and more effective than building roads.
Roberts has been an at-large member of the county commission since 2004, and was its chairwoman until 2010. By tradition, the chair goes to whoever gets the most at-large votes. At first blush, she seems a bit too liberal to run for a district that went for McCain by 54 percent of the vote. However, redistricting gave Mecklenburg County 71 percent of the district's voters. And Charlotte is turning bluer by the minute--it gave Obama a whopping 63 percent of the vote in 2008. Bottom line--apparently area Dems smell blood in the water.
Roberts is retooling her campaign site, but since it's a near-certainty she'll be the nominee, show her some love by giving to ActBlue Democratic nominee fund for the district.
Granted, we Charlotte Dems are going to be stretched awfully thin this year, with Larry Kissell in the fight of his life next door in the 8th. But this may be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a real congresswoman in this seat after 18 years of it being contaminated by Myrick. Plus, the Republican primary is already turning into a clown car, and it's possible that the elephant-on-elephant violence could leave the nominee bloodied and short of cash. If nothing else, we can make the Repubs spend a lot of money in a market where they really can't afford to spend it--Charlotte is the 25th market, and is now officially a money pit.
I hadn't planned on spending much money for now, but I'm definitely chipping in to help flip this seat. But the Repubs are probably going to be throwing everything that isn't nailed down to keep it. Let's lend Roberts a hand.