2014 North Carolina's 12th congressional district special election
A special election for the United States House of Representatives in North Carolina's 12th congressional district was held on November 4, 2014, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of U.S. Rep. Mel Watt following his appointment to head the Federal Housing Administration.
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North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory chose to hold the election concurrently with the regular 2014 general elections,[1] rather than hold a separate special election at an earlier date to fill the vacancy. Party primary elections for the seat would be held May 6. Primary runoffs, if needed, were scheduled for July 15 but proved unnecessary, because the only primary winner won more than 40 percent of the vote. According to politician Gerry Cohen, the primary was the first special primary election in North Carolina history, because in previous special elections, committees or conventions of party leaders selected their nominees.[2]
The winner of the special election would serve through the remaining months of the 113th Congress, while the winner of the regular general election being held the same day would serve in the 114th Congress.[3] This is essentially the same procedure used in North Carolina in 1992 to fill the vacancy in the First Congressional District (other than the addition of a primary election). Because Watt resigned in January and the winner of the special election was not seated until after the November election result is official, the district was without a representative for more than 11 months.
Background
Democratic Congressman Mel Watt was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 10, 2013, to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.[4] He resigned from Congress on January 6, 2014, the day he took office as director of FHFA.[5]
Democratic primary
Declared
- Alma Adams, state representative[6]
- George Battle III, general counsel to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board[6]
- Marcus Brandon, state representative[6]
- Malcolm Graham, state senator[6]
- Curtis C. Osborne, attorney[6]
Withdrew
- Brad Craver, management consultant[7]
- Beverly M. Earle, state representative and nominee for Mayor of Charlotte in 2007[6]
- James "Smuggie" Mitchell, Jr., former Charlotte City Council member and candidate for Mayor of Charlotte in 2013[8]
- Rodney W. Moore, state representative[9]
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Alma Adams |
George Battle |
Marcus Brandon |
Malcolm Graham |
James Mitchell |
Curtis Osborne |
Rajive Patel |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton (D-Adams) | February 28 – March 4, 2014 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 26% | 9% | 4% | 19% | 9% | 3% | 1% | 29% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alma Adams | 14,967 | 44.2 | |
| Democratic | Malcolm Graham | 7,495 | 22.1 | |
| Democratic | George Battle III | 4,431 | 13.1 | |
| Democratic | Marcus Brandon | 2,984 | 8.8 | |
| Democratic | James "Smuggie" Mitchell, Jr. | 2,034 | 6.0 | |
| Democratic | Curtis C. Osborne | 1,939 | 5.7 | |
| Total votes | 33,850 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Declared
- Vince Coakley, former TV news anchor[11]
Endorsements
- LibertyConservatives.com [12]
General election
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Alma Adams | 127,668 | 75.43% | -4.20% | |
| Republican | Vince Coakley | 41,578 | 24.57% | +4.20% | |
| Total votes | '169,246' | '100.0%' | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
- Morrill, Jim (December 9, 2013). "Watt's exit will leave scrambled race for Congress". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- "Charlotte Observer: Special House election for Watt seat to overlap regular schedule". Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- WRAL.com
- Ed O'Keefe and Paul Kane (December 10, 2013). "Senate confirms Patricia Millett, Mel Watt using new majority rules". The Washington Post.
- "Charlotte Observer: Mel Watt to resign from Congress Jan. 6". Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- Cahn, Emily. "Roll Call: Watt Confirmation Kicks Off North Carolina Special Election". Atr.rollcall.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- Dunn, Nash (January 31, 2014). "Former Lexington resident announces for 12th District". The Dispatch. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- Jen Wilson (April 15, 2014). "James Mitchell drops bid for congressional seat". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- Cahn, Emily (January 6, 2014). "Election Scheduled to Replace Watt in North Carolina". Roll Call. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- NC State Board of Elections website
- Morrill, Jim (January 28, 2014). "Ex-anchor Vince Coakley enters congressional race". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- http://blog.libertyconservatives.com/vince-coakley-interview-endorsement/
- https://er.ncsbe.gov/?election_dt=11/04/2014&county_id=0&office=FED&contest=0