#NCSEN 2014: GOP field about to become a threesome? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Brant Clifton considers the Republican prospects for the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina, currently held by Kay Hagan in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    It is looking more and more like Charlotte pastor Mark Harris is about to join Cary physician Greg Brannon and state House Speaker Thom Tillis in the May 2014 GOP primary to pick an opponent for incumbent US Senator Kay Hagan (D). The exploratory committee touting a potential Harris candidacy has hired a Tea Party-aligned campaign staffer with a proven reputation for grassroots organization.

    If Harris does jump in, how does this play out? Some see him drawing votes away from the Tea Partier Brannon to the benefit of the establishment-backed Tillis. Another view could be that a Harris campaign could hurt Tillis. Harris and Tillis are from the same neck of the woods. They've got the SAME home base. Tillis has been working hard to win over religious conservatives - especially homeschoolers.

    Brannon has a real shot at appealing to religious conservatives. He is a practicing OB-GYN who has actively been working in the community to reduce abortions. Pro-life state lawmakers have turned to him for guidance on crafting anti-abortion legislation. He's adopted children. He's led church-sponsored medical missions to Third World locales.

    Preacher does not always equal "conservative." GOP primary voters need to think long and hard about that. Mike Huckabee was a Baptist preacher. He was also a death penalty opponent and a big economic protectionist. Huckabee has stepped out as a significant critic of Rush Limbaugh.

    Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh has loaned out its resources to the Moral Monday rabble, and EqualityNC - the gay rights group. Bill Barber is a preacher. He's had a lot of preachers out there with him getting zip-tied at the legislative building.

    I regularly attended a Southern Baptist Church a few years ago. The preacher there regularly sermonized in favor of gun control, and criticized people for spending their hard-earned money on themselves and their families while there are still poor people.

    Don't be taken by the "Rev." title. Harris may be a tried and true conservative. (For the record, he was a passionate advocate for the marriage amendment to the state constitution.) But look past the prayers and the speaking skills. Before jumping on the Harris bandwagon, find out where he stands on economics and the role of government in our lives - HUGE issues, considering our current mess.

    Reality doesn't match DC's take on Hagan. I've seen spin from national media talking-heads Stu Rothenberg and Larry Sabato talking about how weak the GOP field is against Hagan, and how tough she will be to beat. I don't see it.

    While in the state legislature, Hagan managed to win over conservative-leaning voters with her constituent service. (I know a guy from Greensboro, who voted for - and donated to - Jesse Helms, and did the same for Kay Hagan in 2008 against Elizabeth Dole. I asked him: WHY ???? His answer: "When I've needed something, she's been there for me."

    Five years later, ol' Kay has had to pay the piper, AKA her puppet-master Chuck Schumer (D-NY), with some hard-left votes. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of ObamaCare. She's cheerleaded for - and given votes to - a leftist environmental agenda. She's now spoken out passionately in favor of the Gang of Eight amnesty bill. Hagan even campaigned against the 2012 NC Marriage Amendment - which voters approved by a 61 percent margin.

    If I were running against Kay - I'd "thank" her for making health insurance more expensive and making it harder to see your doctor and get treatment you need. I'd "thank" her for taking positions that denigrate the sanctity of marriage and US citizenship. I'd also "thank" her for her extreme leftist environmental votes that jack up the cost of energy and increase utility bills.

    Thanks to her Greensboro roots, she's got some support there. She'll get votes from the usual suspects in the Triangle (especially Bill Barber's zip-tied crew), and the Charlotte area. But, just like John Edwards, she's done nothing to endear herself to voters and make the case for six more years in DC. People fought tooth and nail to send Jesse Helms back to DC over and over again for 30 years. I don't see many people - outside of the state's lefty ghettos - ready to go to the mat for Kay.

    Kay Hagan got elected thanks to (1) coattails from Barack Obama and (2) a lack of coattails for Elizabeth Dole, thanks to a weak McCain campaign. Obama will not be on the ballot in 2014. He lost the state in 2012. State Democrats were sitting pretty in 2008. Now, they are reeling. Democrats owned state government in 2008. The GOP now owns state government. It will be a different world in November 2014.

    An opponent who can present a credible conservative message - and a true contrast to Hagan - will be the key to adding one more Senate seat from North Carolina to the GOP caucus in the US Senate.