North Wilkesboro town commissioner Jeffrey Elmore doesn’t think his Republican primary opponent Dan Soucek, director of Operation Christmas Child for Samaritan’s Purse, has what it takes to swim with the sharks in Raleigh.

The two are contending for state Sen. Steve Goss’ seat in Senate District 45, located in northwestern North Carolina. Goss has served two terms in the Senate and is considered vulnerable this year. His district favors Republicans strongly in voter registration; John McCain bested Barack Obama there by more than 20 percentage points.

“You’ve seen the corruption in Raleigh. Without the political experience, I think someone could get eaten alive pretty quickly,” Elmore said of his opponent.

Elmore, who is also a middle school teacher, doesn’t think Soucek’s experience as a second lieutenant in the Army, or the time he spent dropping Christmas presents in Asia, has prepared him for the political arena.

Soucek disagrees. He said his military background has given him “real-life experience you can’t get in a book or a committee.”

His time in the Army and working at Samaritan’s Purse have given him opportunities to work with the U.S. State Department, international business leaders, religious leaders, governors, a prime minister, and a king, he said.

Jobs the top issue

Both candidates say the biggest problem their region faces right now is a lack of jobs.

On his website, Elmore lays out a plan to address the issue. He calls it the “Four Pillars of Job Creation” — education, business recruitment, infrastructure, and state institutions.

He believes building new government buildings in poor counties can stimulate economic growth.

“Governmental investment in bricks and mortar can help the slow economy in these counties and supplemental businesses can grow around these intuitions,” he said.

Soucek’s plan to create jobs is less involved — lower taxes and less regulation. “We have a lot of restrictive regulations that aren’t related to safety that strangle small businesses,” he said.

Elmore said state employees, especially college and prison workers, haven’t been well represented.

“Almost 7 percent of our workforce in North Carolina is a state employee. At one time, quality benefits made up for the lower pay than the private sector. This is no longer true,” he said.

Elmore also believes “younger people need to be encouraged to be on the State Health Plan.”

The second-most important issue to Soucek is the recent health care legislation. He believes it’s unconstitutional and would like to see Attorney General Roy Cooper sue the federal government on behalf of North Carolinians.

Opposing Goss

“I’m not going to be critical of Steve Goss. He’s a very nice gentleman,” Elmore said. “But I think the way he’s voting on many issues is not a reflection of the true values we hold in our district.”

Goss took no clear stance on a state amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, Elmore said. Goss also hasn’t paid enough attention to the voices of state employees, he added.

Soucek said Goss doesn’t “act in the best interest of the people.”

“When someone votes consistently against the people, there comes a time when the people will vote against him, and I think that time has come,” Soucek said.
He criticized Goss’ use of discretionary funds and his backtracking on the marriage amendment.

Sara Burrows is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.