Holly Grange Implies Dan Forest is Too ‘Divisive,’ She’s More ‘Electable’

RALEIGH – State House Representative Holly Grange (R-Wilmington) is challenging Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. While Forest is way out front in the polls, with Grange in the single digits, the primary is closing in, and Grange is showing signs her real pitch: “Forest is too conservative divisive; I’m more electable.”

From WNCN:

“Republican State Rep. Holly Grange says she’s trying to provide another choice as she takes on Lt. Gov. Dan Forest in their party’s primary for governor.

“North Carolina needs somebody as governor who is not divisive,” Grange said in an interview with CBS 17’s Michael Hyland.

Forest has served as lieutenant governor since being elected in 2012, with many in Raleigh anticipating he would run and be chosen as the party’s nominee for governor in 2020.

“People are concerned about electability. And, whoever wins this primary needs to be electable against Gov. Roy Cooper,” said Grange. […]”

The strategy isn’t a new one. The push for more moderate, squishy general election candidates, ostensibly for the appeal to independents, is well worn. It’s also a self-serving narrative for moderate, squishy donors and special interests to have more cooperative politicians in power.

Grange is right to say that we need someone able to beat Governor Roy Cooper. Who’s done that before? While Pat McCrory came up short against Roy Cooper on election night 2016, Dan Forest actually earned more votes statewide in his reelection to lieutenant governor than both of them. Check the box for Forest on electability.

Though Grange may paint Forest as too ‘divisive,’ and the Democrats will say Forest is ‘extreme,’ the thrust of his campaign seems to be the concerted effort to make unity and common core values a centerpiece. In so doing, however, that doesn’t mean the values and principles change. Some may call it divisive, if they’re squeamish about sticking to principles in the face of opposition, or extreme, if they regard constitutional government and individual liberty as undesirable.

Grange, for her part hasn’t exactly come out on the right side of ‘divisive’ issues. As a House member, she sponsored a bill to repeal House Bill 2, buckling to the Left’s orchestrated freak out; she was the primary sponsor of a bill to pay $55 million in taxpayer funded film grants to movie studios; she was the primary sponsor of a bill to increase the smoking age to 21; the primary sponsor of bills to expand licensure bureaucracy; sponsored bill to further regulate child care and extend state sponsored education to birth; Sponsored a $20 million bill to advance liberals’ SMART Start Pre-K agenda; and, sponsored a bill to add billions to our state debt via bond offerings, among others.

Pushing crony corporate subsidies, yielding to trans-justice warriors, and trying to feed the Leviathan with more authoritative bureaucracy are issues many conservative Republican primary voters might just find “divisive.”