I got this E-mail from Lawson. Unfortunately with next year being a presidential election, he'll have a harder time because voter turnout will be higher, which isn't in his favor being a highly democratic district. However, I hope he is willing to try again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Tracy,
Yesterday was a historic election in North Carolina's 4th District.
Thanks to your help, we ran neck-and-neck with 22 year incumbent David Price for most of the night, until late returns (mostly from Durham County) finally gave him his margin of victory.
Here's a comparison between 2008 and 2010:
2008
County Price Lawson
Wake 102,268 51% 96,520 49%
Durham 102,291 77% 31,055 23%
Orange 51,918 72% 20,624 28%
Chatham 9,374 62% 5,748 38%
Total 265,851 63% 153,947 37%
Dollars Spent $940,570 $520,569
Dollars Per Vote $3.54 $3.38
2010
County Price Lawson
Wake 56,821 43% 75,381 57%
Durham 56,991 73% 21,410 27%
Orange 31,792 70% 13,693 30%
Chatham 6,897 57% 5,231 43%
Total 152,501 57% 115,715 43%
Dollars Spent
(through Q3) $796,280 $287,980
Dollars Per Vote $5.17 $2.49
We are incredibly encouraged by these results.
Specifically, we gained ground in every single county. In Wake County, we swung from a 2 point loss to a 14 point win. We closed the gap by 8 points in Durham, 4 points in Orange, and 10 points in Chatham.
We went from a 26 point race to a 14 point race -- and David Price spent a lot of money to lose those twelve points.
The fundraising numbers for 2010 are only through Q3, and those will revise upwards in the final FEC reports. I expect that Price will spend over $1 million, and we've spent all of the roughly $400k that we raised.
Honestly, I underperformed in fundraising this year... but at the end of the day, thanks to our amazing volunteers, we ran a million-dollar campaign.
JoLynn and I are so grateful and privileged to work with such an amazing group of volunteers. The sweat equity that you poured into this campaign -- from all across the country -- is unprecedented, and the results show fantastic momentum for the future.
Volunteers -- Your hard work paid off!
We made over 75,000 get out the vote calls in the two weeks leading up to the election. While David Price was running a vicious attack campaign of direct mail, robocalls, and television advertisements, we absorbed the assault and got our voters to the polls.
While we didn't get all of our 2008 voters to the polls (which would have been enough to win!), we did get enough voters out to help elect Republican Tom Murry as my new representative from NC House District 41, and sweep four fiscally conservative Republicans into our Wake County commission! Not to mention pulling our weight in Chatham County, where a slate of three Republican county commissioners made history last night as well!
In the current economic environment, fiscally conservative leadership at the state and local level has never been more important. These wins are huge, and historic.
But here's the best part.
The North Carolina General Assembly changed hands last night -- including a historic pickup by my friend Glen Bradley in NC House District 49. For the first time in over a century, the Democrats' political machine is not running Raleigh. With 2011's upcoming redistricting, our job as North Carolinians is to insist on fair, competitive districts throughout the state -- and our Republican leadership has the mandate to deliver that outcome.
We need voters to choose their politicians, instead of politicians choosing their voters. It is unconscionable that someone like David Price can vote with Nancy Pelosi more than any other Congressman simply because he has been gerrymandered into a "safe" district that is considered impossible to challenge.
We did more than challenge David Price in 2010. Despite his negative attacks, distortions, and fear mongering, I believe that in the battle of ideas, we defeated him. Additionally, we turned a supposedly "safe" seat into a sinkhole for special interest and corporate PAC money that was unable to be used in other races.
So what comes next?
I called David Price last night -- unfortunately I wasn't able to speak with him personally, but I left a message on his voicemail.
I congratulated him on winning re-election. Then I told him that while I was willing to concede this election, I am not willing to concede our country.
I will see him again in 2012.
JoLynn and I are going to spend some much-needed time with the children over the next few weeks, but we are going to be working. Working to fix health care, working to grow our economy, and working to raise the money needed to defeat David Price in 2012.
Thank you again for your financial support, and pouring your hearts and souls into this campaign. Thank you for your prayers. Real change takes time, and we are on the right side of history.
In liberty,
B.J. Lawson
Republican for Congress
North Carolina's 4th District
p.s. -- Please help us pick up yard signs! Feel free to hold on to them, or drop them by our house at 8737 Castleberry Road in Apex. Just leave them in front of the detached garage. If you have a large 4x8 sign, Al Ely will be in touch with you.
Site Information
About Us
- RonPaulForums.com is an independent grassroots outfit not officially connected to Ron Paul but dedicated to his mission. For more information see our Mission Statement.
Connect With Us