The Charlotte Observer
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
www.charlotte.com

GOP incumbents try to focus on local issues

TIM FUNK AND JIM MORRILL

Carolinas Republicans trying to keep their seats in Congress want to talk about what they've done for their districts. They'd rather not talk about -- you know, that guy in the White House with an N.C. approval rating of just 39 percent.

But their Democratic challengers would prefer to shift the conversation. Among their favorite topics: that unpopular GOP president, his unpopular war and the latest scandals in Republican-run Washington.

With Election Day only two weeks away, this battle to steer the attention of Carolinas voters -- keep-it-local vs. make-it-national -- mirrors what's going on in scores of congressional districts around the country.

Nationally, Democrats need to wrest 15 seats from Republicans to take back control of the House. And they're counting on North Carolina to provide one, maybe two, of those pickups.

Their main areas of opportunity: The 11th Congressional District, in the western N.C. mountains, represented by Charles Taylor of Brevard, and the 8th District, stretching from east Charlotte to Fort Bragg, represented by Robin Hayes of Concord.

When President Bush traveled to the Tar Heel State last week, he stayed away from both battleground districts.

The competing strategies of Republican incumbents and Democratic challengers played out Monday in 8th District campaign events in Kannapolis and rural Union County.

Appearing before about 75 Union and Anson county farmers, Republican Hayes couldn't have scripted a better tribute than he got from Mike Johanns, the U.S. secretary of agriculture.

"When it comes to somebody who understands agriculture," Johanns said, "you can't find a more solid congressman than Robin Hayes."

Not long after the secretary helped Hayes promote his Washington credentials, Democrat Larry Kissell offered another take on his opponent's incumbency.

"Mr. Hayes is a good man, but he's part of Washington," Kissell said in Kannapolis. "And right now, Washington is an issue."

Hayes spent the day playing his incumbency card. Not only can he can bring the nation's top farming official to his district, but he chairs a key panel on the House Agriculture Committee.

"It's good having a congressman from our district on the agriculture committee," said Paul Talley, a Stanly County farmer.

Kissell, meanwhile, tapped into voters' angry feelings about Washington.

Greeting diners in the Townhouse II restaurant in Kannapolis, first-time candidate Kissell spoke with Arlene Perkins, a Republican who runs a design and embroidery business. She plans to support him because she feels squeezed by the economy.

Politicians "have no clue about what's going on with the middle class," said Perkins, 55, "and the middle class is soon going to be the lower class."

In the 11th District, where Taylor faces a stiff challenge from former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler, there's a similar variation in emphasis.

Taylor has been talking lately about all the federal funds he's funneled into the district as head of a powerful House Appropriations panel. Shuler would rather talk about a recent Wall Street Journal article that said some of those "earmarks" benefited land and businesses owned by Taylor -- allegations that he tied to the so-called GOP "culture of corruption" in Washington.

There's a third Carolinas congressional race getting national attention. But in South Carolina's 5th Congressional District, the incumbent -- Rep. John Spratt of York -- is a Democrat.

His challenger, state Rep. Ralph Norman of Rock Hill, was recruited to run by the White House.

These days, Norman's focus is on an issue -- illegal immigration -- where he and other conservative Republicans differ with the president.

Still, during their September debate in Rock Hill, Spratt tried to make the election a referendum on Bush and called Norman a likely "rubber stamp" for the Republican president.

But Norman and other GOP candidates have tried to nationalize their races, too.

Referring to the war, Norman tied Spratt to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control.

Said Norman: "We do not need to cut and run like Nancy Pelosi." Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., faces a tough challenger in Republican Ralph Norman. Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., is trailing Democrat Heath Shuler in most polls.