Got the word this afternoon that Vernon Robinson is considering a run for Congress against Mel Watt. Vernon is a smart guy, often entertaining, and his brand of take-no-prisoners politics often makes for good newspaper stories.
The problem for him is one of demographics. Watt’s district, the 12th Congressional, is a serpentine patch of land that stretches from Charlotte to Greensboro. According to the
State Board of Elections, it’s among the most heavily Democratic districts in the state, with Ds outnumbering Rs more than 2-1. In addition, it covers two major broadcast markets, which increases the cost of campaigning and makes it difficult for a challenger, particularly one who is not from the Charlotte area.
Robinson ran a credible campaign against Earline Parmon several years ago, but he’ll have a hard time against Watt, who is tough and smart and well-connected as the chairman of the
Congressional Black Caucus. The first question for Robinson—and for the Journal—is figuring out whether he will be able to get National Republicans to pay attention to this race and give him some financial help. If not, he could end up with a megaphone but not enough batteries.
That raises another question for journalists: how much attention to give to races that aren’t very competitive. It’s the same situation in the 5th Congressional, now that Allen Joines has shied away from challenging
Virginia Foxx. The Democrats will probably find somebody to run, but they won’t have the stature that Joines would have brought to the race.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
Post a comment
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.