When Bill Faison decided to forgo running for re-election to the state House and run for governor, few would have predicted that his heavily Democratic district would provoke so much interest from Republicans.

After all, House District 50 is anything but friendly territory for the GOP. Encompassing parts of Orange and Durham counties, Democrats have a two-to-one advantage in voter registration over Republicans. In 2008, President Obama carried the district 57 percent to 42 percent over John McCain.

Even with those long odds, four Republicans — Jason Chambers, Rod Chaney, Lewis Hannah, and Thomas Samuel Wright (no website available) — have thrown their hats into the ring for the primary May 8. The winner will take on one of two Democrats — Valerie Foushee or Travis Phelps (no website available) — in the general election.

Out of North Carolina’s 120 House districts, only one other — District 109, strongly Republican territory — has attracted as many GOP candidates. The numbers have perplexed some analysts who question why so many Republicans would jump into the race.

Ask the candidates themselves, though, and they point to the Republican-crafted redistricting plan as a reason for their optimism.

“I think the district is much more conservative,” said Chaney, a pastor who describes himself as the most conservative candidate running. “There is one thing that northern Orange County hates more than a Republican — it’s a Chapel Hill liberal who wants to tax them and tax them.”

Chambers, a twentysomething lab technician, said that District 50 now encompasses “the most conservative parts of Durham and Orange counties.”

“Considering as a whole how heavily Democrat Durham and Orange counties are, myself and the others looked at this as a possible win in a good year for a Republican,” said Chambers, who in 2010 unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, in House District 30.

Staking out positions

In telephone interviews, the four GOP candidates staked out subtle differences on the issues.

Hannah, a banker and self-described Republican moderate, said that he is Faison’s next-door neighbor. He emphasized improving the state’s infrastructure, establishing more training for the trades in the public school system, and lowering the income tax rate. But he pointed to “potential electability” as his greatest strength.

“In all candor, when you’re looking at a 50-percent Democrat district, you’re going to have to find some accommodation to get elected,” Hannah said.

All four candidates oppose Gov. Bev Perdue’s proposal to restore three-fourths of the 1-cent sales tax increase that Republicans allowed to sunset last summer.

“I’m against raising taxes,” said Wright, a retired highway patrolman. “We need to look at the money we’ve got and funnel it in the right direction.”

The candidates also backed extracting natural gas via hydraulic fracturing, a process commonly known as “fracking,” although Hannah cautioned that more study needs to take place.

The issue drew partisan crossfire last year when Perdue vetoed a bill supported by Republicans that would have expanded opportunities for offshore drilling and fracking in North Carolina. Perdue later reversed her stance on the issue.

“We’ve got to unleash the energy resources that we’ve been blessed with,” said Chaney.

Chambers listed passing voter ID and lowering the gas tax as two of his chief goals.

“The Republicans in the past session made some positive steps, but we really need to do a lot more,” he said. “There is no reason why our unemployment rate should be so high.”

Marriage referendum

Asked to comment on the marriage amendment that will appear on the May ballot, Chaney is the most fervent supporter of defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

“I do not think Amendment One is an anti-gay amendment,” he said. “It would address a man having three wives. It would address all kinds of issues. I would rather have the people of North Carolina speak rather than have a judge come in and decide the definition of marriage.”

Chambers said that is pro-life and believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, but he doesn’t emphasize those issues in his campaign, while Wright said that he would vote for the amendment and that he supports allowing the people to have the final say on what constitutes a marriage.

Hannah took a different approach. “I’m not in favor of gay marriage as such, but I’m going to really read the amendment hard,” he said. “I can see where some concerns come up on tort law.”

A surprise win?

Faison has represented district 50 for four terms. In 2010, he bested his Republican opponent 56 percent to 44 percent. He ran unopposed in the general election for his first three terms in office.

Faison is one of six Democrats running for governor. Recent polling puts him well beyond front-runners Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and former U.S. Congressman Bob Etheridge.

His departure means that District 50 is an open seat. On the Democratic side, Foushee is a former member of the Chapel Hill Police Department and current member of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Her opponent, Phelps, is a Durham resident.

The N.C. FreeEnterprise Foundation, a pro-business election analysis organization in Raleigh, ranks the district as strongly Democratic. Even so, the four Republican candidates hope that voters will be a mood to tack against the wind this year.

“It looks like we’re going to have a Republican governor and House,” said Wright. “In order to be placed on a committee or in a caucus that can best assist the citizens of Orange County, I think they should vote for a Republican.”

“My research says that the last time a Republican went to Raleigh from Orange County was 1878,” Chaney said. “I’m asking people to help me make history.”

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