Former Democratic state Rep. Lucy Allen’s decision to leave office in April for a post on the N.C. Utilities Commission turned the state’s 49th House District from second tier to strongly competitive. Now, a libertarian-leaning Republican is skirmishing with an appointed Democrat to move the seat into the GOP’s win column.

Allen is a familiar face to voters in the district, which encompasses all of Franklin County and parts of Nash and Halifax counties. Before serving four terms in the House, she was mayor of Louisburg from 1985 to 2001. She received more than 60 percent of the vote in the last two elections.

But without Allen’s name on the ballot, Republicans sense an opportunity to pick up the seat in the midterm election Nov. 2. Although registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 54-27 percent, the district went for George W. Bush by a comfortable percentage in 2004, and John McCain and Barack Obama finished neck-and-neck in 2008.

This year, Republicans recruited self-employed computer networking technician Glen Bradley to face John May, a Democrat appointed April 21 to complete Allen’s term. Bradley describes himself as “a small government, constitutionalist type.” His chief goal is trimming the amount of state laws on the books.

“My primary effort is going to be on reducing the out-of-control state law code, which will itself reduce spending on code enforcement from police as well as bureaucratic oversight,” he said.

May did not respond to three e-mails and three phone calls from Carolina Journal seeking an interview. No campaign website is available. May is retired and a former member of the Franklin County Board of Education.

During a candidates’ forum in Lake Gaston Oct. 6, May said that cuts to the state budget would need to be looked at line by line and that he wants to cut repetition between bureaucracies. He said he wants to focus on public education.

In the short session, May voted for the state’s $20.6 billion budget and for a bill that bans whole-fat milk, sugar-sweetened beverages, and juice in preschools and childcare centers. In a move praised by conservatives, he also voted in favor of legislation giving non-violent felons, under certain conditions, the right to petition for the restoration of their right to bear firearms.

The only polling in the race is a survey commissioned in August by Bradley and conducted by the left-leaning firm Public Policy Polling. It gave Bradley a 43-35 percent advantage, with 22 percent of voters undecided.

Even so, Bradley trails badly in campaign cash. He raised $1,471.95 in the second quarter of 2010 and had just under $1,000 on hand June 30, compared to May’s $11,945.11, according to official records.

Bradley is portraying himself as an independent voice. “I am a constitutionalist before I am a Republican, and I always will be for the rest of my life,” he said. “So I’ve had my own issues with the Republican Party.”

As an example of his divergence from the GOP’s platform, Bradley said the war on drugs should be a state issue. He supported Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a Republican with libertarian instincts, in the GOP’s 2008 presidential primary. If elected, Bradley plans to create a constitutionalist caucus to move Republicans more in his direction.

At the forefront of Bradley’s concerns is which party gets to redraw legislative and congressional districts next year to reflect population shifts in the 2010 census. If Republicans gain at least one chamber of the legislature, they would have much greater say in how the lines fall.

“If we maintain the same power structure that we have right now with the Democrats in control,” Bradley said, “we’re going to end up with the same kinds of voting districts that we already have. That’s simply unfair. I will be a strong advocate for obeying state law and drawing voting districts fairly, not to favor any party.”

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.