RALEIGH — If past is prologue, candidates challenging state Sen. Clark Jenkins in the upcoming Democratic primary might not have a prayer even though both are ordained ministers. Jenkins has proven during previous primary battles to be a formidable and well-financed candidate in Senate District 3, whose registered voters are 71.5 percent Democratic and 54.6 percent black. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton and President Obama in 2012 each received 61 percent of the vote.
Jenkins successfully has faced primary opposition in each election cycle since being elected in 2002 to the district seat, which covers Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Tyrell, and Washington counties.
Although his campaign cash on hand at of the end of 2013 was just $318, Jenkins raised $126,915 to get elected in 2012 without general election opposition, having defeated Florence Arnold Armstrong in the Democratic primary by a margin of more than 2-1. He has raised more than $1 million in contributions since 2002, according to Ballotpedia.
Jenkins is facing Erica Smith-Ingram and Alan Mizelle in the May 6 primary. State Board of Elections records show that Smith-Ingram had not reported campaign donations or expenditures at press time. Mizelle reported raising and spending $125 as of March 6.
The primary winner should win the legislative seat outright, barring a write-in or unaffiliated candidate in the general election, because no Republican candidates filed. Senate District 3 covers Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell, and Washington counties.
Jenkins, who is a farmer, did not respond to requests for an interview on the issues the General Assembly is likely to face in next year’s session.
Smith-Ingram is in her second term on the Northampton County Board of Education. She presently is a high school science teacher after working for Boeing, and also as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She won the endorsement of the State Employees Association of North Carolina.
“My experience as an educator and working for a large company will help me in Raleigh,” Smith-Ingram said. “We need to rebuild our economic base in northeastern North Carolina. But businesses won’t come here if our schools are failing.”
Smith-Ingram wants to stop further cuts to education and to restore higher teacher pay to keep the state competitive with those surrounding it.
“Education has been defunded, and our workers have lost important unemployment benefits,” Smith-Ingram said. “We need to turn those around. We need initiatives to ensure that workers can find jobs, fair wages, and forward growth.”
Smith-Ingram said being a minister also has helped her to make deeper connections in her community, which is something she believes is vitally important for a public servant to have.
Mizelle said he entered the race because he is fed up with politics as usual. He sees a lack of ethics, prayer, and focus on God as the largest obstacles facing the state.
“I’m not a politician,” said Mizelle, who is making his first run for the General Assembly. “I’m a minister. Politics has been about the wrong things, and we need to change that. Politicians have lost the vision of our forefathers, and I intend to bring it back.”
On the substantive issues the General Assembly recently has dealt with, Mizelle said some of the education reforms enacted have been good for the state. He said merit pay was the best way to reward good teachers.
“I don’t agree with across-the-board raises,” Mizelle said. “But I am against the teacher tenure changes” that eliminate career status protection and replace it with a system of annualized contracts.
Joe Johnson is a contributor to Carolina Journal.