It is the question that underlies intra-Republican chatter in recent weeks on the topic of how to elect at-large members to the Mecklenburg County commission come November. The evidence is contradictory.
On the one hand you have the new energy represented by Tea Party affiliated groups and candidates, which does seem to tap into South Charlotte unease about the future. But on the other hand you have the evidence of the ballot box stretching back to Pat McCrory’s dismal showing in Southern Mecklenburg in 2008. Recall that turnout in heavily GOP precincts was below the county (and state) average, allowing Bev Perdue to take the county.
The 2009 mayor’s race was a repeat. Low turnout in several large GOP precincts doomed John Lassiter. And even turnout for last month’s primary has been termed a disappointment by some activists who thought they had energized the base to a much greater extent.
At this point I have ask — is someone telling local Republicans to be afraid of higher turnout? I honestly do not keep up with all the supposed local “strategists” who advise local candidates and officials what to do, so this is not a got-ya question. I just have to eliminate the possibility before moving on to the larger question of how to get South Charlotte voters to polls.
Assuming someone might want that to happen.
