Larry Kissell, a one-term Democrat from North Carolina’s 8th congressional district, is getting a Democratic primary challenger.
As we reported in Carolina Journal last week, Kissell has gotten lots of friendly fire from the left because of his vote against Obama’s health care reform plan in November. Now, they’ve decided to primary him.
The Fayetteville Observer has the details:
Nancy Shakir, a 70-year-old retired educator in Fayetteville, said Friday she will run against Kissell in the May 4 primary.
Shakir worked for his campaign in 2006, when Kissell lost by 329 votes to Republican incumbent Robin Hayes. She was a volunteer with a political action committee called Working Families Win, which had targeted the 8th District. The district stretches from Fayetteville to Charlotte.
In 2008, Shakir said she focused her efforts on the Obama campaign but still supported Kissell when he unseated Hayes.
Shakir said she didn’t plan on running for Congress but grew increasingly concerned over Kissell’s record, such as his vote last year against the health reform bill in the House.
“His voting record has been disappointing, to me and many others,” she said.
Shakir also didn’t like how Kissell voted against allowing bankruptcy judges to cut the mortgage debt of homeowners, and how he voted against giving additional federal funding to ACORN.
This development is doubly significant because the 8th congressional district is the most competitive in the state and the most likely to switch parties this November. A tough primary fight for Kissell would weaken his prospects of staving off a Republican challenger in the general election.
