And why will they keep Pat McCrory from being governor? Too much caffeine?
The Uptown paper of record does its best today to wave off a state-wide run by McCrory, citing all the obstacles in his way. Among them the “social and fiscal hyper-conservatives” who vote in GOP primaries.
Nice try.
This bogeyman does not explain why Charlotte Republicans are already supporting Democrats like Richard Moore. Moore’s campaign finance report is dotted with local registered Republicans like attorney Robert Baker. Baker, of the powerhouse Moore & Van Allen firm, gave $2000 to Moore’s campaign last June according to campaign records. Charles Tew, CEO of Southern Pump and Tank Company, gave $4000.
Other local Republican supporters of Moore hit McCrory even closer to home: Duke Energy SVP Keith Butler gave Moore $500, another Duke exec, Myron Caldwell, gave $200.
Now why is a slightly to the left-of-center candidate like Moore a perfectly good choice for so many parts of McCrory’s local political base? Because they are not conservative on anything, let alone “hyper-conservative.” More broadly, they are comfortable with an insider like Moore, which is death to a potential outsider candidate like McCrory. They like the status quo McCrory needs to run against.
Yes, there are Republican primary voters out there statewide who are more socially conservative than McCrory. We know that. But a much bigger problem for a McCrory campaign is that his supporters do not really support him. Conservatives — hyper, torpid, or otherwise — have nothing to do with that.
