Eight Republicans Hope to Succeed Heath Shuler in 11th Congressional District

RALEIGH – There’s no shortage of Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the 11th Congressional District seat.

The General Assembly made the district a bit friendlier for Republicans when it redrew maps last year. And the district’s Democratic incumbent, Rep. Heath Shuler, chose not to seek re-election to the state’s westernmost congressional district.

The nonpartisan North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation noted that the 11th was the state’s most Republican district with Democratic representation in Congress before the General Assembly gained control of redistricting. Now, a larger percentage of its voters are registered Republicans. The previous 11th District gave 52.1 percent of its votes to Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential contest. The new 11th would have given McCain 58 percent support, NCFEF concluded.

The eight candidates are Spence Campbell, Susan Harris, Jeff Hunt, Mark Meadows, Vance Patterson, Chris Petrella, Kenny West, and Ethan Wingfield.

Campbell, who hails from Hendersonville, is making his second run for political office following a 26-year military career. He ran for the 11th Congressional District seat in 2008.

Harris is an accountant from Old Fort.

Hunt is the district attorney for District 29B. DA is the only elected office he has sought until now. He has been elected DA five times.

Meadows is a small businessman from Jackson County. He’s been in the restaurant, real estate, brokerage, and development business. This is his first run for political office.

Patterson, who hails from Morganton, owns Patterson Fan Co., which makes industrial fans. He ran for U.S. House in 2010 for the 10th Congressional District.

Petrella is an economic development consultant from Marion.

West is a supplemental specialist with Liberty National Life. He is a former chairman of the Clay County Republican Party.

Wingfield hails from Hayesville and has worked for Capital One.

Campbell said that the nation’s debt is a top issue in the campaign. “It’s big enough and pervasive enough to cripple this country economically, and the politicians are not dealing with it,” Campbell said.

He said that while he believes all Americans should pay taxes, he also believes the tax code is being manipulated to benefit certain people and industries to the detriment of the general population.

“The tax code rewards certain industries over others,” Campbell said. “The role of government is to promote the well-being of every citizen, not some over others.”

Campbell said that Republicans have been contributing to the problem, including the years when President George W. Bush was in the White House. “It’s been going on so long that a third of Americans are on the dole,” Campbell said.

Campbell added that he’s not interested in what the Republican Party thinks of him. “I’m not an establishment Republican,” Campbell said.

Hunt is putting his record as district attorney on the line. “I have established a record of doing the right thing regardless of what the politics is,” Hunt said. “No other candidate can say that they have that as a history in their record.”

Hunt said he’s worked with lawmakers to establish a constitutional protection for victims of crimes, to get a fetal homicide law enacted, and to fight attacks on the death penalty.

Hunt lists the deficit and national debt as the top priority in his campaign.

“That’s the defining issue for me,” Hunt said. “The private sector does not have any confidence in the people in Washington to get control of the budget.”

He supports Rep. Connie Mack’s “Penny Plan” as a means of controlling the deficit. Mack, a Florida Republican, has proposed a plan which would, in part, cut a penny out of every dollar spent by the federal government over the next six years. After that, caps would be put in place.

Hunt also supports boosting Medical Savings Accounts and sweetening 401(k) programs as methods to take pressure off of Medicare and Social Security. He also backs rolling back federal regulations and becoming energy sufficient by drilling for natural gas, shale oil, and oil in the Gulf of Mexico. He supports building the Keystone Pipeline.

“We’re the Saudi Arabia of natural gas,” Hunt said. “There is no alternative to fossil fuel in the next 30 to 40 years at the earliest.

Patterson said that a new attitude is needed in Washington. “Things haven’t gotten any better in Washington; they’re getting worse,” Patterson said. “The attitude has been, stop anything. We need to move beyond that.”

Patterson said that from day one, his campaign has been about jobs.

“Not everybody wants smokestack manufacturing,” Patterson said, adding that western North Carolina has something to offer businesses wanting to relocate.

“We’ve got a quality of life here that’s the envy of the world,” Patterson said.

The region’s good transportation and work ethic are among the qualities that need to be presented to companies around the world to get them interested in moving to western North Carolina, Patterson said.

Patterson said that, if elected, he plans to donate his congressional salary to a charity in the district.

Meadows noted that his business experience has led him to dealing with government regulations.

“I’ve signed both the front and back of a payroll check,” Meadows said. “I know what it’s like to deal with regulations. When government gets out of the way, it makes it easier.

Meadows said he supports an economic plan that allows businesses to create jobs without a government stimulus or bailouts. He supports eliminating regulatory laws that hamper economic growth. He favors lowering taxes and free-trade policies.

While Meadows said he supports social conservative values — “We believe that a good, true conservative is conservative on both fiscal and social issues,” he said — and stressed that his campaign is trying to stay on message and focus on jobs and values.

“We stand for life, liberty, and less government,” Meadows said.

Wingfield said that the nation needs “a new generation of bold, conservative leaders who are going to go oup to Washington and start to turn this country around.”

Said Wingfield, “This next decade is that critical window of time where we can make a difference turning this country around.” If nothing is done to change the status quo in Washington, the United States will be at the same level of indebtedness as Greece,” he said.

“It’s a moral issue; it’s an economic issue,” Wingfield said. “It’s an issue that threatens our country’s future.”

Wingfield said that he is passionate about social issues, adding that there is “no daylight” between him and his GOP rivals on social matters.

“We are in essentially a national emergency over our debt,” Wingfield said.

Harris, in email correspondence, said she is running “because I see a complete lack of fiscal discipline in Washington.” She said her experience in dealing with more than 1,000 employees in six states helps give here experience in fiscal discipline.

“I’m the only candidate that has the discipline, financial expertise and decades of experience to hit the ground running once elected,” she said.

She said she is at odds with a government that is increasingly hostile to Christians.
Harris said that there is little time for the nation to address the debt crisis. “With strict budgeting and fiscal discipline, the U.S. may not suffer the same austerity measures as Europe,” she said.

Neither Petrella nor West could be reached for comment concerning their candidacies.
On his campaign web page, Petrella said that getting people back to work is the most important issue in the campaign. He touts his own job-creation record.

“I understand how to create ‘real’ jobs and I understand the inner working of politics,” he writes on his web page. “I am the best candidate for U.S. Congress in N.C.-11 because I have the knowledge and capabilities to have a positive impact on my district and on N.C. as a whole.”

On West’s campaign web page, he said that he supports promoting private-sector job creation by rolling back regulations and reducing taxes. He mentions lowering the capital gains tax to 10 percent, cutting corporate taxes to 10 percent and eliminating the “death tax.”

West supports allowing states to drill for oil, natural gas, and coal shale. He wants to repeal ObamaCare and promote free-market driven healthcare.

The Republican nominee will face the winner of the Democratic primary in the November general election. The Democratic candidates are Tom Hill of Zirconia, Hayden Rogers of Murphy, and Cecil Bothwell of Asheville.

Barry Smith is a contributor to Carolina Journal.