GOP challenging Democrats in the West…

<strong>Democratic exits add to duties for Buncombe’s Sen. Nesbitt
</strong>
<em>Asheville Citizen-Times</em>
By Jordan Schrader

Senate Majority Leader Martin Nesbitt’s new job is shaping up as a challenging one.

Duties the Asheville lawyer took on when Democrats elected him majority leader include raising money and recruiting candidates that will help his party maintain their century-long grip on the Senate.

The number of candidates he has to find is growing. Starting with Sen. Tony Rand’s departure in November that led to Nesbitt’s ascension, a steady drip of announcements has left vacancies in some of North Carolina’s most politically competitive Senate districts.

Nesbitt is optimistic about his party’s chances in the 2010 elections, which are crucial to shoring up power for the rest of the decade. …

Republicans, though, say they have an opportunity to capitalize on four openings left by Rand’s resignation to lead the state parole board and decisions by Sens. Julia Boseman of New Hanover County, David Hoyle of Gaston County and R.C. Soles of Columbus County not to run again.

Soles announced just this week, under the cloud of criminal investigations including a probe of a shooting at his home, that his unmatched 42nd year in the legislature would be his last.

Boseman, Hoyle and Soles have all won close races in recent years. The Civitas Institute, a free-market advocacy group that analyzes the partisan leanings of legislative districts, considers those three districts to tip slightly or heavily to the GOP, and Rand’s to lean slightly to Democrats. …

All 50 Senate seats, along with all 120 House seats, are before voters in 2010. Winners get to redraw political districts. To claim the Senate’s majority, Republicans would have to pick up six seats if they hold the 20 they have now.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, a Rockingham County Republican, said the departure of Democrats with a track record of winning elections could help the GOP reach that goal.

They will also need to pick off some incumbents. Berger said they would look to topple several Democratic senators in districts represented in the recent past by Republicans, including three in Western North Carolina: Sens. John Snow of Murphy, Steve Goss of Boone and Joe Sam Queen of Waynesville, who has three GOP challengers vying for the right to take him on.

The results of the parties’ fundraising and recruiting efforts in the next couple of months will be critical, Raleigh political consultant John Davis said. In managing that work for Senate Democrats, Nesbitt has big shoes to fill. …

Berger suggests 2010 will see a political backlash against the policies of Democrats who control Congress, the White House, the legislature and the governor’s office.

“We are seeing a high level of frustration on the part of voters to what they see as excessive spending, which results in excessive taxation, which is harmful to the overall economy and affects the jobs issue,” Berger said.

GOP campaign ads are sure to highlight the nearly $1 billion in tax increases legislators and Gov. Bev Perdue approved in 2009 to fill a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. …

<a href=”http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100102/NEWS01/301020024/1009/news01/Democratic-exits-add-to-duties-for-Sen.-Nesbitt”>Click here for the full article from the <em>Asheville Citizen-Times</em>…</a>

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