Comments for Primary “Elections” Importance | Eastern NC Now

Stan, my apologies. I had forgotten you were in that election, too. Of course, reelecting you would be the first priority for conservative, then Kidwell. Frankie Waters should have been the top choice for defeat, however. Waters was as phony as a three dollar bill from the very beginning. With this crazy limited voting system, my one vote this election will be for Stan Deatherage. Ditto, all the votes in my family.

Commented: Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 @ 8:12 pm By: Rino Hunter

Washingtonian, you may not remember but Kidwell ran against Frankie Waters for county commissioner the first election Waters ran in. Beaufort County would have been so much better off if Kidwell had won that primary instead of Waters. That was the election where Waters lied to the Stop the Jail Committee on his position on the proposed mega-million dollar jail.

Commented: Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 @ 5:52 pm By: Rino Hunter

Since Frnakie Waters thought Darren Armstrong would be his type of commissioner and now thinks he would be his type of legislator, should any thinking conservative follow Frankie Waters' path?

Commented: Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 @ 11:25 am By: Bubba

Frankie Waters is on file donating to the Kidwell campaign. It appears Waters and Kidwell are birds of a feather.

Commented: Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 @ 1:52 pm By: Washingtonian

There is a better word than "blather" for Armstrong's stances. It is "boilerplate", things so general that any candidate of any ideology could run on them. Come on! "Economic growth and preserving local industries"???? What politician would ever be opposed to those generalizations? All of them could also sign on to "preserving individual freedoms" but they would have different meanings. To a liberal that would mostly be about a "right" to an abortion or to welfare. To a conservative, on the other hand, it would be about right to life, freedom of speech, and gun rights. Same generalization, very different meanings.

Armstrong is campaigning on boilerplate, not real issues.

And, Washingtonian, you write like you are funded by one of Phil Berger's PACs.

If you want our legislature to be dominated by establishment hacks, Darren Armstrong is your man, but if you want someone who takes conservative stances and fights hard for them, Kidwell is the only logical choice.

Commented: Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 @ 11:19 am By: Rino Hunter

Washingtonian, that is exactly the type of blather that the establishment ALWAYS spews. Armstrong's old buddy liberal Democrat kinppin Marc Basnight could have easily said the same. Armstrong is an establishment hack, and so, apparently is Washingtonian. No wonder the Raleigh RINOs got him in the race. He would be a perfect puppet for them in Raliegh, not a fighter for conservative principles like Kidwell. Armstrong would not recognize a conservative principle if one jumped up and bit him on the ass. Anyone who would write four figure checks to the likes of Marc Basnight is NOT NOT NOT a conservative. PERIOD.

If you are voting "anybody but Kidwell": because you have your panties in a twist over his personality, why don't you just admit it?

Commented: Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 @ 9:43 am By: Conservative Voter

When I mention ISSUES and Policies, I am talking about things like immigration, gun rights, taxes and spending, free speech, transgenderism, green energy, etc. Armstong does not want to talk about them, and neither do his supporters here. You are getting back to a perception you have relating to personality, NOT issues.

As to Unaffiliated voters, in eastern North Carolina, the majority of them are straight ticket Republican voters in the general election. How they split elsewhere in the state may vary. Kidwell has done very well with Unaffiliated voters every prior election he has run in.

There is an old saying that "if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything," and that sums up Armstrong, and from what I have seen here, most of his supporters, too. Frankie Waters wanted him to run for county commissioner, and that tells you a whole lot about Armstrong, none of it good.

Commented: Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 @ 5:41 pm By: Conservative Voter

In North Carolina this primary season, conservative legislators are under attack from two groups. Phil Berger, through his point man Jimmy Dixon, is after the six top leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus (actually now just five since one of the Berger / Dixon candidates announced but failed to file). Berger and Dixon want to make the House safe for special interest cramdowns like Shrimpgate, the Green New Deal, the repeal of bathroom privacy laws, etc.

Then there is a statewide group of liberal public school teachers who have switched registration to Republican to try to grab GOP seats by stealth in a primary. I think the nearest one of those primaries is in Onslow county.

It would be really helpful to the conservative cause statewide if Kidwell was free to go help some of the others under leftwing and RINO attack. But, of course, with the challenge from Armstrong, he cannot. So Armstrong's challenge hurts conservatives far beyond the 79th district. In the past, Kidwell has been free to go out and help conservatives beat back challenges in other parts of the state.

John Valley, I do not believe that you have identified the political issues or policies that you support. Are you conservative or establishment?.

Commented: Monday, January 19th, 2026 @ 9:01 pm By: Conservative Voter

Really, Washingtonian? That would be like me trying to suggest that you were a supervisor of illegal aliens at Armstrong's farm.

I can understand why ARmstong is now trying to walk back the Jimmy Dixon connection. Dixon did scrub those giddy comments of his back in December crowing about "identifying" and "recruiting" Armstrong as a primary challenger to Kidwell from the internet, but he seems to have forgotten that there is a little thing called screen shots. And he hopes that knowledge of his trip to Beaufort County to recruit Armstrong back in September is limited. But it is even harder to try to erase Dixon's presence at that kickoff fundraiser when he brought weak-on-immigration Raleigh RINO Steve Troxler with him to boost Armstrong at that rally mainly of big farmers.

The important thing is that we can trust Kidwell on immigration issues. He has proven that. Armstrong has proven nothing but his occupation and those he surrounds himself with speak volumes that we cannot rely on him.

Commented: Monday, January 19th, 2026 @ 12:33 pm By: borderhawk

Washingtonian's "hope and change" pitch for Armstrong tries to present him as "new" to politics, but Armstrong is NOT. Not too long ago, Armstrong was a registered Democrat in Hyde County, and he did engage in politics there, DEMOCERAT politics. Armstrong was a Marc Basnight Democrat, and wrote big 4 figure checks to Basnight.

It tells you a lot about Armstrong's political ideology that he has never given a nickel to a Republican legislator or legislative candidate but he had no problem writing a big check to Marc Bashight, a notorious liberal power bully. Armstrong may be new to Republican politics but he is not new to politics generally. He is a warmed over Basnight Democrat trying to reinvent himself as a Republican.

No wonder Armstrong does not want to talk about issues. No wonder Washingtonian cannot identify one single issue on which she can try to claim Armstrong has a better, more conservative position than Kidwell.

We have too many useful idiots for the left and the RINOs who ignore real issues and vote on silly personality matters instead.

WE have a conservative Republican with a proven and very solid conservative voting record representing us in Raleigh. Why in the world would we want to replace him with a warmed over Bashight Democrat who was recruited by the RINOs? Serious voters vote on policy and issues, not get their panties in a twist over personalities.

Commented: Monday, January 19th, 2026 @ 7:38 am By: John Steed

Borderhawk, you are just an opportunistic liar.
I asked Armstrong who approached him about running for Dist. 79, and I can you, it was NO ONE in the NC Leg, or anyone working for the NC Leg. And it wasnt Berger or Dixon.

I have no doubt you are being purposefully fed dirty talking points by Kidwell himself. You are doing the same kind of crap Dems do to Trump and his supporters...that is to try to destroy them by association. I find that kind of politics cheap and crude.

But that seems to be how its done around these parts. From the City bosses to the County, then NCLeg, all the way up to DC and The New World Order... the powerplayers will try to bring down anyone who rubs the bosses the wrong way.

Kidwell cant be trusted any longer. He needs to be retired.

Commented: Sunday, January 18th, 2026 @ 6:11 pm By: Washingtonian