Topic: Election 2008
Paul supporters Lawson and Jones win NC primaries B.J. Lawson, making his first run for office, and Walter Jones, a 7-term incumbent, both scored impressive victories.by George Dance
(libertarian)
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Ron Paul supporters William (B.J.) Lawson and Walter Jones both won primary victories in North Carolina on May 6. Lawson received 70% of the Republican vote in the 4th Congressional District (CD-4), while Jones took 60% in CD-3. RPR site RonPaul.com reports that both "were endorsed by Ron Paul." (1)
Lawson, a medical doctor turned entrepreneur, is making his first run for political office. He introduced Ron Paul at Paul's presidential campaign rally this month in Durham, which is in CD-4. (2)
Otherwise Lawson did not stress his connection to Paul. His opponent, Rev. Augustus Cho, did that for him, calling him "a Ron Paul Libertarian, 100%! Go to his webpage, and everything he stands for is right there! I call him Ron Paul Jr. because that's what he is." (3) (Lawson's later response: "No, I'm a Ron Paul Republican.")
Lawson now goes up against David Price, CD-4's 10-term Democratic incumbent.
In CD-3, Walter Jones is the incumbent. Formerly a Democrat, he switched to Republican and won the seat in 1994 as part of the "Contract With America" campaign. Sometimes called a liberal due to his political past and his post-2005 opposition to the Iraq War, Jones in fact enjoys an American Conservative Union lifetime rating of 92. Newt Gingrich also endorsed him in the primary.
Jones is a member of the congressional Liberty Caucus. According to Wikipedia, he "endorsed Ron Paul in the 2008 race for president of the United States." (4)
The views expressed in this
article are those of George Dance only and do not represent
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"He" being Ron Paul? Well, he did get 70% in his own congressional primary.
I'd argue that Paul's national numbers are low, because he's been marginalized and ignored for years, even in his own party. As late as last October, three-quarters of *Republicans* didn't know who he is. Thanks to how the media is covering this election that''s still the case for a lot of voters: I read one story from PA about a voter who went to vote for Clinton, but (because she was a registered Republican) got a ballot listing Paul, McCain, and Huckabee, none of whom she knew anything about.
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