The Sanford Herald: Serving Sanford, NC

http://www.sanfordherald.com/articles/2004/05/05/news/editorial/edit05.txt

GOP primaries could become referendum on Richard Morgan

By GARY D. ROBERTSON

RALEIGH - Now that the Easley administration has stopped feuding publicly with fellow Democrat Ralph Campbell Jr., it's time for Republican infighting to return to center stage.

At the midway point of the election filing period, there are several GOP House primaries already shaping up into a referendum of sorts on Co-Speaker Richard Morgan, R-Moore.

This is the first time that rank-and-file GOP voters statewide have been given a choice between endorsing Morgan's relatively moderate positions or siding with the party's conservative wing.

"They're going to have to explain to their constituents why they sided with Morgan," said Rep. Frank Mitchell, who is changing his address to run against Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, a Morgan lieutenant. "They just can't go home and ... say they sold their vote for a little bit of power and a nice office."

Although conspiracies of the Morgan faction and a larger group loosely led by Rep. Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, may reach into hyperbole, there's no love lost between the two groups and the two men, whose feud goes back nearly 10 years.

The conservative wing says Morgan has betrayed other Republicans by working with Democrats in a power-sharing plan that left most of the House Republicans out in the cold and on the back rows.

They have filed resolutions seeking to have Morgan thrown off the state GOP's executive committee because they contend he's turned into a Democrat. They call Morgan and his followers RINOs - Republicans in Name Only.

"These primary races are going to save the Republicans and the principles for which it stands," said former Rep. Art Pope, a Daughtry ally who has been giving advice to potential candidates. "The Republicans must elect Republicans instead of Democratic-Morgan coalitions."

Morgan and his band of roughly 15 Republicans, many with key committee posts, say they've gotten work done in Raleigh in a chamber now split evenly between the two parties.

They say the strategy by Daughtry as minority leader during 2001-02 paralyzed the General Assembly, was destructive and led to the longest two-year session in state history.

Morgan has been criticized in his local paper by GOP enemies and has a well-connected primary opponent. Peggy Crutchfield, the challenger, has said she wasn't asked by Morgan's enemies to run. She has criticized Morgan for failing to "behave like a Republican" in Raleigh.

"It's clear that they're fighting Richard Morgan, so he needs to fight back," Paul Shumaker, Morgan's political consultant, said last week.

Morgan's campaign committee had more than $600,000 on hand at the end of last year, according to finance reports, and a lot of that money ultimately will be funneled to help other candidates.

"You can fully expect those who have support of the speaker ... will get assistance," Shumaker said. "We're absolutely going to be prepared."

The fingerprints of Morgan or Daughtry may be hard to see at first glance in a primary race, but a closer look reveals its influence on the agendas of competing candidates.

In Wake County, several Republican incumbents are facing opponents in the July 20 primary.

The most high-profile race may be in Cary, where Rep. David Miner is being challenged by Nelson Dollar, a high-profile conservative who once ran for labor commissioner.

Dollar said Miner, a Finance Committee co-chairman, isn't representing the ideals of the Republican Party well, supporting tax increases and a death penalty moratorium.

The well-financed Miner is already running radio ads in the Triangle highlighting legislation he supported that should appeal to his suburban voters, such as the final budget bill backed by Morgan and Co-Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg. It would eliminate the so-called "marriage penalty" for income tax and an increase in the child-tax credit.

The primary battles shouldn't surprise anyone, Robinson said. As Republicans have grown into competing with Democrats in North Carolina over the past 30 years, it means something to win the GOP primary.