Greensboro News & Record editorial writer Doug Clark has a theory– at least ‘in part’:
Trump’s victory in North Carolina happened in part because no leading Republicans spoke out against him who threw much support behind any of his rivals. State Senate leader Phil Berger waited until Monday to endorse Cruz, but also praised Trump. Sen. Thom Tillis quietly endorsed Rubio, although almost nobody noticed. Sen. Richard Burr was silent. Gov. Pat McCrory meekly pledged to support the party’s nominee in the fall. He stayed out of the primary, declining to endorse another Republican candidate as South Carolina’s Gov. Nikki Haley did.
And here we have the fundamental misunderstanding of Trump’s success—-does Clark really believe that the likes of Pat McCrory, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr speaking out against Trump would change voters’ minds? Yeah right. Trump’s doing an end run around those guys and speaking directly to the voters, tapping straight into their resentment of the so-called Republican establishment.
That said—speaking only for myself—I was encouraged by Ted Cruz’s strong showing in N.C., especially in the Triad’s urban areas—Cruz took both Forsyth and Guilford counties, while Trump took the rural surrounding counties, although by relatively small margins.
