CHARLOTTE – I’m in the Queen City today to speak to two audiences about the just-completed primary elections in North Carolina and the issues likely to shape the results of the November balloting.
It is particularly interesting to discuss politics here in my native county, where politics has never been as big a deal as it is in Raleigh, or even Greensboro or Winston-Salem. Charlotte is a business town, not a government town (though its local governments spend more and tax more than Raleigh, thank you very much). By and large, its districts aren’t as competitive as the ones you find around the Triangle or Triad – virtually all have a strong Republican or Democratic tilt based on gerrymandering and simply the housing patterns and economics of the area.
On Tuesday, the pattern reasserted itself. While the statewide turnout was about average for a primary in a non-presidential year, Mecklenburg County’s turnout was in the low teens. Nearby counties like Cabarrus and Rowan actually exceeded the state average in turnout, as did a smattering of other Piedmont and western counties and some large ones like Forsyth and Wake.
Still, the folks I’ve talked to today have a lot of questions about state politics. They want to know why Erskine Bowles ended up with such an easy win (simple answer: too many Piedmont and western Democrats turned out to suit Dan Blue’s strategy, and Elaine Marshall’s candidacy collapsed in the last two weeks or so). They want to know what issues voters are paying attention to this year (simple answer: North Carolina’s economic and fiscal crisis, education, Social Security, and prescription drugs). They want to know who will win control of the state legislature (simple answer: don’t ask me, ask a swami).
The fact of the matter is that such questions, while perfectly legitimate, explain why turnout was lower in the Charlotte area. In other parts of the state, people have specific questions about specific candidates or races, including NC House and Senate, county commissioner, sheriff, etc.
My impression is that in my old stomping grounds, people tend to be spectators more than they are participants.