Democrats Running For Congress In Western North Carolina Engage In Candidate Forum
This week, the Smoky Mountain News and the Haywood Democratic Party hosted a candidate forum for the five prominent Democratic candidates running for the nomination for the 11th Congressional District. Cory Vaillancourt, the politics editor for the Smoky Mountain News, moderated the forum.
Meet the candidates:
Lee Whipple: Whipple is a licensed civil engineer and long-time progressive activist.
Paul Maddox: Maddox is a cancer researcher who grew up in Western North Carolina, and is a long time Democrat Party activist.
Richard Hudspeth: Hudspeth worked a family physician and eventually as the CEO for Blue Ridge Health.
Zelda Briarwood: Briarwood is a local Democrat activist, and she currently works with young adults in early recovery at Red Oak recovery.
Jamie Ager: Jamie is the latest member of the Ager family to run for public office. His brother serves in the North Carolina General Assembly, in a seat held by his father for several years. Ager is trying to present himself as a moderate by highlighting his families farms, while downplaying his family’s political connections.
Key moments from the forum:
In his opening remarks, Whipple attacked Democrat Party leadership for taking dirty money and discussed his new ideas platform.
All five Democrats complained about the lack of progress on Helene funding and attacked Edwards for not opposing President Trump.
Briarwood, Maddox and Hudspeth highlighted their grassroots fundraising efforts and called on Democrats to stand up to corruptions and not raise money from lobbyist and pacs. In contrast, Ager touted his commitment to calling donors for over 5 hours a day to raise money.
Hudspeth attacked Ager for selling his soul as he raised money.
When asked about impeaching Trump, Ager dodged the question by saying that impeachment was a terrible way to hold people accountable. But he did say that Congress needed to impeach DHS Secretary Kristy Noem. Hudspeth commended Ager for following his lead and declared his support for universal healthcare. Hudspeth criticized Ager again for dismissing the power of impeachment to hold people accountable.
All five candidates attacked the Trump administration for supposedly holding up the funds, but none of them bothered to highlight the role Stein’s administration plays in disbursing the funds.
Tim’s Take: This will be a key primary to watch on election night for March 3rd. If Ager wins then the Democrat establishment remains strong. If Hudspeth prevails it’s a strong sign that the progressive left is on the rise.
