Cleaning Out Unyielding Conservatives: Conservative Stalwart Rep. Speciale Suddenly Gets Primary Challenger

RALEIGH – They seem to be dropping like flies ever since redistricting maps placed  curious number of the GEneral Assembly’s tried and true conservatives in less than favorable conditions for reelection.

Rep. Chris Millis resigned when it became clear that his new district suddenly had a lot more Democrats in it, and Sen. Bill Cook was simply drawn out of his district. And the list goes on.

One of the few fiery conservatives that has proven to be a thorn in the side of House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kinds Mountain) is a retired Marine that always stands up for conservative principles such as State’s powers and Individual Rights – Rep. Michael Speciale.

Now it appears that Speciale will be the target of another retired Marine in the 2018 primary elections. I wonder why?

“A Republican primary shaping up for 2018 would pit two retired Marines from New Bern against each other – including Rep. Michael Speciale, a legislative lightning rod.

The challenger, Eric Queen, 41, holds views in line with most Republicans. He supports voter ID and small government and opposes abortion.

But Queen says voters will see clear differences between him and Speciale, a three-term NC House incumbent.

Speciale sponsors bills that attract a lot of public attention but don’t get much support in the legislature.

He sponsored a bill this year that sought to repeal the part of the state constitution that prohibits secession. He was one of four House sponsors on a bill this year that would have once again made gay marriage illegal in the state, in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. As the bill made national news, House Speaker Tim Moore said it would not be considered.

Queen said he does not agree with the secession amendment or the effort to defy a Supreme Court ruling.

“I believe in a traditional family,” Queen said. “I also believe in the Constitution. When the state is going to ignore the Supreme Court – I don’t know where you’re going with that.”

Speciale did not return a message left at his home.

Speciale represents a district that includes Pamlico County and parts of Beaufort and Craven counties. He has drawn attention for his commentary on social media, including criticizing the Jan. 21 Women’s March protests as “a joke.””

To be sure, the “Women’s March” was a joke. Not a funny one. It was a march for Leftists of the fairer sex, which bent over backwards to exclude any women  who didn’t share the same affinities for the likes of Marx and Mao.

Speciale has drawn the ire of N.C. House leaders like David Lewis and Tim Moore for a while now, so, while it’s unfortunate that his voice could be silenced, it is not unexpected.

Incumbency has its advantages, of course, and luckily that extends to conservatives too. It helped keep conservative Republican Rep. Larry Pittman in the chamber last time around.

“It tends to be hard for challengers to win primaries. Incumbents have better name recognition and their campaigns often have more money.

Rep. Larry Pittman, a Republican from Concord who has worked with Speciale on many controversial bills, handily defeated an attorney who ran against him in the 2016 GOP primary.

Queen said he considered running for local office but decided to seek the House seat as he and his wife talked about his options.”

Who wants to bet that some Establishment Republicans were part of that conversation on ‘options’?

Read the rest here.