★★★★★ Campaign Evaluation: Greg Brannon (U.S. Senate, R-NC)

[CaseyJones]

This thread is intended to be a collection point of the strong pros and cons of any potential liberty candidate / campaign that is being discussed / promoted on the forum. You are welcome to post both positive and not-so-positive attributes about the candidate as they related to their position on supporting liberty as well as issues relating to their campaign. The most important information may be aggregated in this top post for easy reference.

Candidate Name: Greg Brannon
Office Sought: U.S. Senate, North Carolina
Website: http://gregbrannon.com/
Social Media: Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DrGregBrannon) | Twitter (https://twitter.com/DrGregBrannon) | YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz0Yok72sssmtCjFosva8jw)

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: ★★★★★
Strong Constitutional advocate of 2nd Amendment rights (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=281))
Opposes domestic use of drone surveillance (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=521))
Constitutional Issues: ★★★★★
General Constitutional knowledge (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=140))
Knowledge of Constitutional history and original intent (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=236))
Would end Department of Agriculture and other unconstitutional federal departments (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=383))
Support of nullification and knowledge of states' rights (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iIQ3xb8ZGYY))
Economic Issues: ★★★★★
Opposition to federal health care law (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=189))
Opponent of Federal Reserve and proponent of sound money (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=316))
Foreign Policy: ★★★★★
Would have opposed intervention in Syria citing Congressional war powers (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=439))
Social Issues: ★★★★★
Believes marriage should be left to the states (Source (http://gregbrannon.com/family-values/))
Pro-life, would support federal Sanctity of Life Amendment (Source (http://gregbrannon.com/prolife/))
Overall Issues Rating: ★★★★★

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: North Carolina
District: N/A
Incumbent: Kay Hagan (http://www.hagan.senate.gov/) (D-NC)
Other Primary Candidates: Heather Grant (http://heathergrantnc.com/), Mark Harris (http://www.draftmarkharris.com/), Thom Tillis (http://thomtillis.com/)
Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties: None.
Cook PVI: R+3 (leans Republican)
Relevant poll numbers: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2013/PPP_Release_NC_910.pdf
Berger 13%
Tillis 12%
Cain 11%
Grant 8%
Brannon 6%
Harris 5%
Wheeler 2%
Undecided 43%
Overall Race Profile Rating: ★★★ - Brannon faces a crowded primary field and must establish himself as the true conservative and choice of the Tea Party. Rand Paul's endorsement will be helpful on this front. If he can navigate the primary, Brannon will face a tight race in the general election against an incumbent. However, polling suggests that the primary is winnable with no clear frontrunner, and North Carolina has been a key battleground state in recent federal elections as well.

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points: Professional campaign materials.
Endorsed by Rand Paul (http://gregbrannon.com/press/2013/10/16/senator-rand-paul-endorses-greg-brannon-for-us-senate)
Endorsed by Tom Woods (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8jmo15liro)
Strong strict Constitutionalist
Solid Tea Party backing
Drafted by Glen Bradley

Unknown points for further research:
Position on drug war?

Possible weak points:
SoCon plant has been installed to split the vote
Head to head against a status quo establishment money machine
No electoral experience running for US Senate out of the gate

Possible deal breakers:
None known.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (polled from 10/24/13 to 11/8/13)

[sluggo]

One thing that is a strong plus is their snail mail materials are usually very professional looking, on par with candidates with huge bankrolls.

[malkusm]

I've updated the template for the OP. Let me know what everyone thinks and hopefully we can get this consensus on how we want this thing filled in, to arrive at an overall rating.

[malkusm]

Brannon was endorsed by Rand Paul today: http://gregbrannon.com/press/2013/10/16/senator-rand-paul-endorses-greg-brannon-for-us-senate

[TaftFan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJ2_smGt5A


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIQ3xb8ZGYY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLWIMPTdNBI

[GunnyFreedom]

Greg Brannon US Senate from North Carolina

Strong strict Constitutionalist
Solid Tea Party backing
Drafted by Glen Bradley
Endorsed by Rand Paul
Moderate to capable fundraising
hard-workingest candidate in my memory

SoCon plant has been installed to split the vote
Head to head against a status quo establishment money machine
No electoral experience running for US Senate out of the gate

No deal breakers that I am aware of.

This guy has the principle prowess of Ron and the rhetorical ability of Rand

[muzzled dogg]

Who is he head to head against? He's 5th in that PPP poll. Are not all running? Is it an old poll?

[GunnyFreedom]

Who is he head to head against? He's 5th in that PPP poll. Are not all running? Is it an old poll?

Poll seems out of date (September 10th) A lot of them (Including Berger) have declined to run. Tillis is disliked by the conservative base, and positively despised by the independents and democrats needed for the General. If Tillis carries the nomination, Hagan will be reelected.

Grant is a nobody pretending to be tea/liberty when she is not. Like Harris she was probably insinuated by the Rovians without her knowledge to split the conservative vote in favor of Toll-us.

[muzzled dogg]

Ty I certainly was not aware

[Bastiat's The Law]

Heather Grant doesn't seem to be actively campaigning.

Brannon performs best in a head to head matchup against Hagan, I think he was down by 7-8 points from her in the latest PPP poll. He has been steadily climbing closer to her over the months, but he's unknown to like 75% of the electorate.

[Bastiat's The Law]

Who is he head to head against? He's 5th in that PPP poll. Are not all running? Is it an old poll?

I just saw an updated poll from within the last week and Brannon did the best in the head to head.

[muzzled dogg]

Please share

Op should be updated

[eduardo89]

FreedomWorks (http://www.freedomworksforamerica.org) needs to be contacted, same with Club for Growth (http://www.clubforgrowth.org/contact/?id=39). Those two endorsements and the cash they bring into races would be huge. I've already contacted them both. I suggest you do too! It only take 2 minutes, click on the links and do it!!!

[Bastiat's The Law]

I was wrong, Brannon is down only 6 points to Hagan!



Hagan’s approval rate is 36 percent, while her undecided number is at 23 percent. She’s been representing our state for nearly six years, and there are nearly as many people undecided about her as there are approving of her.

Hagan is polling significantly under 50 percent in head-to-head matchups against ALL of her three prospective GOP opponents. She’s pulling down 47 percent to 40 percent for Thom Tillis. Hagan leads Mark Harris 46 to 38, and Greg Brannon by 46 to 40. That’s a 13 to 16 percent undecided for each of the three matchups. We aren’t told what the margin of error for this poll is. (It’s usually anywhere from 3 to 5 percent.) Undecideds tend to flock overwhelmingly toward the challenger as the campaign comes to a close. Factor all of that in — and things are actually way too close for comfort for our favorite sock puppet.

[muzzled dogg]

Btl got a link for that?

[Bastiat's The Law]

FreedomWorks (http://www.freedomworksforamerica.org) needs to be contacted, same with Club for Growth (http://www.clubforgrowth.org/contact/?id=39). Those two endorsements and the cash they bring into races would be huge. I've already contacted them both. I suggest you do too! It only take 2 minutes, click on the links and do it!!!

Maybe we should create a generic email that would be easy for everyone here to cut and paste and send? Barrage those groups daily with requests to back Brannon.

[Bastiat's The Law]

Btl got a link for that?

Found that little piece here, but I also saw those numbers on another page that I believe was citing a newer PPP poll, from Oct 15th or around there? That's where I read that Brannon's unknown numbers were in the 70 percent range. I guess that's both good and bad, Brannon has an enormous potential for his support to grow, but to get better known takes money. If I find that other source I'll post it.

http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=6386&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dailyhaymaker%2FgjBo+%28The+D aily+Haymaker+%3A+A+Carolina-Flavored+Dose+of+Common+Sense+Conservativism%29

[Natural Citizen]

but to get better known takes money.



I disagree with this. A web cam and internet connection in the wonderful age of information is no monumental task.

It's hard for me to analyze (much less support) a prospective candidate without hearing and watching him/herself carry themselves. I can deal with loaded questions based on that but don't particularly care for them.

I understand why you want to try that route and that's fine. For me though, I need to hear the person. See them. Brannon is the only one I've taken any interest in out of the lot though and unless he gets some hardball stuff thrown at him I can't separate him from the hurry up and just get elected crowd just yet. Now, that's just me.

I'm opposed to PACs by default though.

[eduardo89]

Maybe we should create a generic email that would be easy for everyone here to cut and paste and send? Barrage those groups daily with requests to back Brannon.

Both those groups have a form on their website, just leave a short message saying Brannon is a true constitutional conservative and he'd be part of the Rand/Cruz/Lee squad helping keep the DC establishment in check and bringing the GOP back to it's fiscal conservative roots. Something along those lines. Those forms literally take 2 minutes to complete.

But I agree, we should make a generic form to send to other groups such as GAO/NRA/NAGR, National Right to Life (who I think will endorse Brannon), and others.

We also need to get him on Fox. Cavuto and Dobbs are great starting places, those would be good, easy interviews for him to do. Beck is also a huge one.

[Brian4Liberty]

Check out Greg's YouTube channel for a variety of speeches. Feel free to give a summary of any videos that you watch.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Brannon2014

[Bastiat's The Law]

I disagree with this. A web cam and internet connection in the wonderful age of information is no monumental task.

It's hard for me to analyze (much less support) a prospective candidate without hearing and watching him/herself carry themselves. I can deal with loaded questions based on that but don't particularly care for them.

I understand why you want to try that route and that's fine. For me though, I need to hear the person. See them. Brannon is the only one I've taken any interest in out of the lot though and unless he gets some hardball stuff thrown at him I can't separate him from the hurry up and just get elected crowd just yet. Now, that's just me.

I'm opposed to PACs by default though.

There's dozens of videos of Brannon online, he probably has the most videos of any of the perspective liberty candidates.

[Natural Citizen]

There's dozens of videos of Brannon online, he probably has the most videos of any of the perspective liberty candidates.

Yes, I was just listening to one of them thanks to brian4liberty's share. Not once did I ever think to check youtube. Weird, huh?

[TaftFan]

Who Greg hangs out with.

Mike Church and Tom Woods
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/p480x480/1375633_679858855358447_90890336_n.jpg
Glen Bradley and Walter Jones
http://www.picresize.com/images/rsz_904288_10200929339294149_1668752545_o.jpg
Photos by Gage:
Ron Paul
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/9912088493_feffdbe790.jpg
The Pauls, Thomas Massie, Curtis Coleman
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/9912006154_7d90ae1aae.jpg

[Bastiat's The Law]

Yes, I was just listening to one of them thanks to brian4liberty's share. Not once did I ever think to check youtube. Weird, huh?

This is one of my favorite interviews. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LbWOmh098)

[Bastiat's The Law]

I'm having a hard time finding the actual PPP breakdown of the latest NC poll. I've seen various websites referring to it though. Could PPP have pulled it since Hagan is losing support? The poll was conducted before the Rand Paul endorsement.

Daily Kos mentions the poll here (http://www.dailykos.com/blog/elections)


2:05 PM PT: NC-Sen: I guess PPP's last North Carolina poll got temporarily shoved aside by the flood of polling the firm released related to the shutdown, but it's finally emerged. Freshman Sen. Kay Hagan continues to lead all of her declared Republican opponents: House Speaker Tom Tillis (47-40), pastor Mark Harris (46-38), and tea partying physician Greg Brannon (46-40). However, those margins are all much tighter than they were in September, when she was up 14 to 16 points on this trio. During that same timeframe, Hagan's job approval slipped from 43-39 to 36-41, but we've regularly seen gyration in PPP's polls here.


News Observer also refers to it here (http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/17/3288823/hagans-popularity-declines-but.html).


Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan’s approval rating has dropped, according to a new poll.

Hagan has an approval rating of 36 percent, with 41 percent of voters disapproving of the job she is doing, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in Raleigh. Another 23 percent were not sure.

That is down from last month, when her approval rating was at 43 percent, her disapproval rating was 39 percent and 18 percent were not sure.

Hagan still leads her prospective Republican opponents. She would defeat House Speaker Tom Tillis by a 47-40 percent margin, Charlotte pastor Mark Harris by a 46-38 percent margin, and Cary physician Greg Brannon by a 46-40 percent margin.

The drop in her approval rating comes at a time when the public is angry at Congress over the shut down of the federal government. Republican Sen. Richard Burr’s approval rating is 28 percent and his disapproval rating is 45 percent.

The poll of 746 North Carolina voters was conducted Oct. 4-6.

[wealeat]

Tom Woods endorses Greg Brannon


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8jmo15liro

[malkusm]

Poll for overall rating will be added on Monday (10/28). OP will also be updated at that time.

[malkusm]

Poll is now open at the top of this thread and will remain open for two weeks. Please vote for the candidate's Overall Rating.

[Occam's Banana]

Tom Woods endorses Greg Brannon

If he's good enough for Tom, he's good enough for me.

[sluggo]

Both those groups have a form on their website, just leave a short message saying Brannon is a true constitutional conservative and he'd be part of the Rand/Cruz/Lee squad helping keep the DC establishment in check and bringing the GOP back to it's fiscal conservative roots. Something along those lines. Those forms literally take 2 minutes to complete.

But I agree, we should make a generic form to send to other groups such as GAO/NRA/NAGR, National Right to Life (who I think will endorse Brannon), and others.

We also need to get him on Fox. Cavuto and Dobbs are great starting places, those would be good, easy interviews for him to do. Beck is also a huge one.

Grassroots North Carolina is another group to contact. They are essentially a state level version of the GOA.

http://www.grnc.org

[Gage]

I voted in the poll prior to looking at the thread. On the issues, I would have voted 5 stars, on speaking ability and overall ability to communicate with voters I decided to give him 3 stars. He should really try to slow down and enunciate a little more, but other than that I would have given him a 5. I guess I was too harsh in my vote. Sorry!

[Bastiat's The Law]

I voted in the poll prior to looking at the thread. On the issues, I would have voted 5 stars, on speaking ability and overall ability to communicate with voters I decided to give him 3 stars. He should really try to slow down and enunciate a little more, but other than that I would have given him a 5. I guess I was too harsh in my vote. Sorry!

Are you a southerner by any chance?

[muzzled dogg]

much more concerned with his chances than his principles (or fast he talks)

[Brian4Liberty]

I voted in the poll prior to looking at the thread. On the issues, I would have voted 5 stars, on speaking ability and overall ability to communicate with voters I decided to give him 3 stars. He should really try to slow down and enunciate a little more, but other than that I would have given him a 5. I guess I was too harsh in my vote. Sorry!

Did you think the wording of the poll should be changed?

[malkusm]

Did you think the wording of the poll should be changed?

I think it should be open-ended - if people have concerns about electability, or their #1 issue is something off the beaten path and the candidate doesn't share their view on that issue, they should feel free to vote for a lower rating for the candidate. The overall rating of the candidate should reflect the diverse views of the entire forum as much as possible.

[eduardo89]

Grassroots North Carolina is another group to contact. They are essentially a state level version of the GOA.

http://www.grnc.org

+rep. Will contact them.

[aclove]

FreedomWorks is now polling this race, asking people which candidate they prefer, Brannon or his two (declared) challengers. Check out their poll here:

hxxp://secure.freedomworks.org/site/R?i=SfSJi77bUe9CdqjAt4x-Mw

[malkusm]

Bump - another day or so to vote in the poll :)

[Bastiat's The Law]

much more concerned with his chances than his principles (or fast he talks)

The only campaign weakness is MONEY. If Brannon is bankrolled I think he could win this thing easily.

[GunnyFreedom]

poll closes in 9 minutes

[lib3rtarian]

The first major batch of campaign mailers are going out soon, asking for donations. We were stuffing envelopes at Brannon's campaign office yesterday for that. Hope some money rolls in due to that.

[eduardo89]

The first major batch of campaign mailers are going out soon, asking for donations. We were stuffing envelopes at Brannon's campaign office yesterday for that. Hope some money rolls in due to that.

Has the campaign been in contact with media outlets to get some interviews? The biggest problem I see with Brannon is name recognition. Three easy interviews he could score are Glenn Beck, Neil Cavuto, and Lou Dobbs (Beck and Dobbs have both had Mace and Lee on already). Also, I would contact Levin who seems to be on a huge anti-establishment tirade as of late and make sure he knows Karl Rove is anti-Brannon.

[Bastiat's The Law]

Has the campaign been in contact with media outlets to get some interviews? The biggest problem I see with Brannon is name recognition. Three easy interviews he could score are Glenn Beck, Neil Cavuto, and Lou Dobbs (Beck and Dobbs have both had Mace and Lee on already). Also, I would contact Levin who seems to be on a huge anti-establishment tirade as of late and make sure he knows Karl Rove is anti-Brannon.

Yup, Brannon needs to be on tv. He's a liberty superstar in the making.

[Mr.NoSmile]

He's done local television, which is definitely a start, since you want to have strong local credentials before going national. But I agree. Plus, he'll have to enter Hagan territory and tread through those waters to see if he can appeal to anyone there. And don't just write it off and say he can't because rhetoric, in the right hands and coming from the right person, can be persuasive. The essence of leadership is finding ways to take people to places they don't want to go, but should try, and Brannon should try that. Especially now that Tillis has a power figure like Rove in his corner. I mean, who does Brannon have? Paul's endorsement is one thing, but he'd have to appear there. Plus I'm unsure whether Paul, like him or not, can bring in the big money figures that Rove can.

[muzzled dogg]

So this guy never ran for dog catcher he's just going straight for us senate?

[eduardo89]

So this guy never ran for dog catcher he's just going straight for us senate?

Just like Rand and Mike Lee.

[Mr.NoSmile]

And just like Rand Paul, look: domino effect-


Republican U.S. Senate candidate Greg Brannon is facing questions about whether he plagiarized significant portions of his campaign website from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

From the New York Times: "For more than a week Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has been fending off criticism for using the writings of others, unattributed, in his own speeches, in an opinion article and in one of his books.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/08/3351058/morning-memo-senate-candidate.html

[muzzled dogg]

Just like Rand and Mike Lee.

kk thx, just trying to reason my 4-star vote

[malkusm]

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: ★★★★★
Strong Constitutional advocate of 2nd Amendment rights (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=281))
Opposes domestic use of drone surveillance (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=521))
Constitutional Issues: ★★★★★
General Constitutional knowledge (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=140))
Knowledge of Constitutional history and original intent (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=236))
Would end Department of Agriculture and other unconstitutional federal departments (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=383))
Support of nullification and knowledge of states' rights (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iIQ3xb8ZGYY))
Economic Issues: ★★★★★
Opposition to federal health care law (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=189))
Opponent of Federal Reserve and proponent of sound money (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=316))
Foreign Policy: ★★★★★
Would have opposed intervention in Syria citing Congressional war powers (Source (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LKJ2_smGt5A#t=439))
Social Issues: ★★★★★
Believes marriage should be left to the states (Source (http://gregbrannon.com/family-values/))
Pro-life, would support federal Sanctity of Life Amendment (Source (http://gregbrannon.com/prolife/))
Overall Issues Rating: ★★★★★

Overall Race Profile Rating: ★★★ - Brannon faces a crowded primary field and must establish himself as the true conservative and choice of the Tea Party. Rand Paul's endorsement will be helpful on this front. If he can navigate the primary, Brannon will face a tight race in the general election against an incumbent. However, polling suggests that the primary is winnable with no clear frontrunner, and North Carolina has been a key battleground state in recent federal elections as well.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (polled from 10/24/13 to 11/8/13)

[lib3rtarian]

Unknown points for further research:
Position on drug war?

hey, I've asked Greg about this. He says this is not a federal issue. That's good enough I think. That's also RP's position. He doesn't personally condone using any drugs, but the federal government is not constitutionally authorized to enforce this.

[malkusm]

hey, I've asked Greg about this. He says this is not a federal issue. That's good enough I think. That's also RP's position. He doesn't personally condone using any drugs, but the federal government is not constitutionally authorized to enforce this.

This is what I figured, and a large reason why we didn't consider it an issue that would cause his Civil Liberties rating to go below 5 stars. For a candidate who didn't have the clear Constitutional knowledge and foundation that Brannon has, this would be more of an issue. Still, I thought I'd note that there is no public stance from him on the issue, even if only because I felt I should try to find something. He really is one of the best ideological candidates with a chance to win that I've seen. :D

[lib3rtarian]

This is what I figured, and a large reason why we didn't consider it an issue that would cause his Civil Liberties rating to go below 5 stars. For a candidate who didn't have the clear Constitutional knowledge and foundation that Brannon has, this would be more of an issue. Still, I thought I'd note that there is no public stance from him on the issue, even if only because I felt I should try to find something. He really is one of the best ideological candidates with a chance to win that I've seen. :D

I am alright with him not making it a campaign issue or issue a public statement about it. With a SoCon plant (Mark Harris) in the race, he will just use it to beat Brannon over the head with - "See, Brannon wants to give your 2 year old cocaine and heroine..". It will be a major distraction, IMO. No need for Brannon to make it a campaign issue, but no need to lie about it when asked either. (Like how he doesn't go around shouting that he wrote in RP, but never lies about it when asked either.) Best to frame WoD as a Constitutional issue.

[compromise]

I voted in the poll prior to looking at the thread. On the issues, I would have voted 5 stars, on speaking ability and overall ability to communicate with voters I decided to give him 3 stars. He should really try to slow down and enunciate a little more, but other than that I would have given him a 5. I guess I was too harsh in my vote. Sorry!

If he's got an endorsement from Rand he must be doing something right. He's doing a good job on the campaign trail so far.