TAKING BACK THE OLD NORTH STATE....
By: Jonathan R. Bandy; YRNF Political Director, NCFYR Chairman
Follow me on Twitter: @JonathanBandy
By: Jonathan R. Bandy; YRNF Political Director, NCFYR Chairman
Follow me on Twitter: @JonathanBandy
North Carolina has quickly become one of the nation’s “swing states. Obama won the state by a small percentage and solidified the state as a liberal haven with the Governor, 7 of 9 members of the Council of State, 1 of 2 US Senators, 8 of 13 US Congressman, 68 of 52 seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and 30 of 50 in the State Senate as elected democrats. North Carolina has become a trye BLUE state..
Historically, North Carolina was a Republican state in National Elections. This changed slowly after the General Assembly gerrymandered the districts in North Carolina to a more liberal audience thus squashing the Conservative viewpoint for being exposed to its citizens. 10 years later North Carolina is at a crossroads with the GOP making a strong case for its stance against total government takeover and outrageous spending and bloated budgets. Nevertheless, the challenge to have a red state is not a small hill, it is a large mountain since the Republican Party has had control only once of the state house in the 1990s, only 2 Republican Governors, and has never held the majority in the NC Senate since Reconstruction.
Polling in NC has been very strong for the Red Team. The Young Republican National Federation saw an opportunity to change NC back to Red on both the state and federal levels and deployed Young.
So the Young Republican National Federation decided to deploy its largest organized Deployment to date in the Old North State to initiate “Operation Regaining the Majority.” Young Republicans from the DC Young Republicans and from Northern Virginia traveled throughout the night on Friday, October 15, 2010 to help in this effort. The bus from DC rolled in around 2AM on with a boisterous group of about 50 young women and men ready to FIRE PELOSI.
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| Young Republicans from Washington, DC and Northern Virginia, and North Carolina with Dr. BJ Lawson (Congressional Candidate NC-4), Tom Murry (NC-41 House Candidate), and Don Frantz (NC-35 House Candidate) |
Saturday morning everyone was woken with a 7AM drill call. Somnolent but excited to hit the streets, the YRs traveled to the Wake GOP Victory Center in Cary, NC, which was about 15 minutes from the hotel for a breakfast and an early morning meeting with GOTV coordinators. YRNF Political Director, North Carolina Federation of Young Professional Republicans Chairman, and Wake County Young Professional Republicans Chairman Jonathan Bandy helped coordinate the walks with other party leaders in Wake County. The walking lists and material seemed daunting at first to the volunteers, but after the group was able to hear from some of the GOP targeted House Candidates Tom Murry (NC-41), Don Frantz (NC-35) and even Congressional Candidate Dr. BJ Lawson (NC-4) they became energized before hitting the streets all wearing their DCYR’s On Tour Shirts. 
The door-to-door walks were targeted in NC House District 35 and 41. The group had lunch at a Sports Grill and hit the streets until 6:30 – 7:00 PM that night. Exhausted from walking 8-12 miles, the YRs had a good ole Southern dinner with Pork BBQ from a local favorite at the North Carolina Republican Party Victory Headquarters. The YRs after refueling rocked the phones until 9:00 PM that night. The group was hit with a surprise visit from Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) who is seeking re-election this cycle.
The group had a social at the Flying Saucer with appetizers from the Wake County Young Professional Republicans and then some who still had enough energy hit-up the nightlife in Raleigh.
On Sunday, October 17th the group was awoke by a 8AM wake-up call and traveled back to the Wake County GOP Cary Headquarters. With a light breakfast the volunteers walked door-to-door until 2PM. The YRs had lunch and then sadly rolled off into the distance on their bus back to the Washington, DC Metro. The North Carolina Federation of Young Professional Republicans and the Wake County Young Professional Republicans thanks the Young Republican National Federation in organizing and helping finance the deployment and the Washington, DC Young Republicans for taking time to come North Carolina and make a huge impact on our elections.
The total numbers of voter contacts was absolutely astounding:
§ Over 6000 doors in Wake County were knocked on.
§ Over 3500 calls were made for the North Carolina GOP Team.
§ Over 6000 pieces of literature were dropped (Wake County Republican candidates)
§ Meaning over 20,000 voter contacts were made…
…in a day-and-a-half
Candidates assisted included:
Senator Richard Burr (Senate), BJ Lawson (NC-4 Congress), Senator Richard Stevens (NC-17 Senate), Michael Beazley (NC-16 Senate), Tom Murry (NC-41 House), Don Frantz (NC-35 House), Judge Barbara Jackson (NC Supreme Court), Judge Ann Marie Calabria (NC Court of Appeals), Judge Rick Elmore (NC Court of Appeals), Steven Walker (NC Court of Appeals), Judge Sanford Steelman (NC Court of Appeals), Dean Poirier (NC Court of Appeals), Tony Gurley (Wake Co. Commissioner), Joe Bryan (Wake Co. Commissioner), Phil Matthews (Wake Co. Commissioner), Paul Coble (Wake Co. Commissioner), Donnie Harrison (Sheriff), Brad Sahl (Wake Co. District Court), Michael Denning (Wake County District Court), Ned Mangum (Wake Co. District Court), Woofer Davidian (Wake Co. District Court) Kris Bailey (Wake Co. District Court), Dan Nagle (Wake County District Court), and Janet Pueschel (Clerk of Wake Co. Superior Court).
The “Operation Regaining the Majority” was a huge success in North Carolina! It would not have been possible without the help from the DCYRs especially Campaign Chairman Brittny McKinney, the Young Republican National Federation, and all the wonderful volunteers in North Carolina.
