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And then there was one
posted at 2010-06-23 03:06 | Last modified 2010-06-23 07:32
NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall won a pretty convincing victory last night over challenger Cal Cunningham in the Dem primary runoff for this fall's US Senate race.
The 60-40 result wasn't a total embarrassment for Cunningham, though off the record, plenty of Dems said it proved he should have conceded the race in May. But Marshall and her key supporters were on message on that point, defending Cunningham's right to call for a runoff.
The AP called the race less than an hour after polls closed. It took another hour for Marshall to make her way down to thank her supporters. She told them she'd been busy fielding calls from well-wishers and the DSCC, whom she says is finally interested in talking to her. As she told the crowd, that's a major change.
The Washington establishment made it clear that we would have to win this nomination without their help. But fortunately, we had you! (Applause)
That may be Marshall’s last official dig at the Dem establishment. She’ll almost certainly need their help to beat incumbent Republican Richard Burr, who’s bringing a $5M campaign chest to the November contest. She'll also need the support of Cunningham voters, and she went out of her way last night to mend fences, thanking her former foe for his service to his country.
He shares our desire to change Washington and make it responsible to the people. Cal and his team ran a strong campaign, and we welcome them in this unified campaign. (Applause.)
Whether any of this will matter is still up in the air. Burr leads Marshall in current polling, but his margin is much smaller than Dole had over Hagan at the same point in the campaign. We all know how that one turned out.
What she said
Here's Marshall's speech from last night. It's about the best I've heard her give to date - short, carefully honed, and well-delivered.
Listen Now!
Party on
Before the ink even dried on the results, Cunningham had already sent out a very classy endorsement of his former rival. He, Lewis, and Marshall are slated for a joint Unity Rally today at state Dem HQ, demonstrating their support for the official nominee. More on that later.
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