Left, Media Friends Hype Dem Ground Swell to Unseat Holding & Break Majorities

From the Raleigh News & Observer, a a reliable partner of North Carolina Democrats come election time:

Rep. George Holding cruised to re-election in a Trump-won district in 2016. He helped craft the Republicans’ signature accomplishment in the House, a tax cut measure that the GOP credits for a booming economy. Now Holding has raised more than three times as much money as his 2018 Democratic opponent, former Wake County commissioner Linda Coleman.

But instead of an easy path to a fourth term, Holding faces a competitive race with Coleman in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes parts or all of Wake, Johnston, Franklin, Harnett, Nash and Wilson counties. Libertarian Party candidate Jeff Matemu, a lawyer, is also on the ballot.

“History was pointing to a tight race. Whatever party is out of power in the White House faces an uphill slog. The president invokes passion on either side. The Democrats were not happy about it,” Holding said.

There is another factor at play in an election without a presidential, gubernatorial or Senate race atop the ballot: Democrats’ push to win control of the state’s General Assembly or, barring that, break Republicans’ supermajorities in both the state House and state Senate.

The 2nd Congressional District overlaps in suburban Wake County with five contested General Assembly races — three House districts and two Senate districts — where Democrats hope to flip Republican-held seats. Suburban Wake County likely contains the largest bloc of Coleman voters, including suburban women, people of color and unaffiliated voters whom the campaign is counting on to turn out for Democratic candidates.

“She will absolutely benefit from the energy that is below her on the ballot,” said Morgan Jackson, a political strategist for Gov. Roy Cooper and Break The Majority.

Democrats need to win four House seats to break the Republicans’ veto-proof majority and 16 seats to take control of the chamber. In the Senate, Democrats must win five seats to break the super majority and 11 seats to take control.

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