A Donkey in Elephants Clothing?
Lakeshia Alston, the only Republican candidate in the race for the state Senate’s District 22 seat, drew widespread attention in December after social media posts questioned her conservative bona fides.
A Durham resident registered since 2004, Alston previously voted in three Democratic primaries before changing her party affiliation to Republican ahead of Durham’s municipal primary elections last October.
Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity, said candidates whose views do not align with their party are not unusual in primary elections, particularly in states with open primaries, where voters ultimately decide which candidates advance.
“Having ‘unwelcome guests’ as candidates is a natural consequence of having a primary system rather than nominating conventions,” Jackson told Carolina Journal. “That dynamic is intensified by North Carolina’s open primaries, which are required by law.”
Others argue that such activity reflects a more deliberate effort by political opponents to influence the nomination process itself instead of engaging in substantive debate.
“We are very aware of the far left playing games during candidate filing,” said Matt Mercer, communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party.
“We did our best to vet her as the candidate that came forward,” Durham GOP chair Christina Crosby told The Carolina Journal. “She was unable to articulate her positions as they relate to the Republican platform and didn’t have much to say about anything that she believed in.”
"We need to remove the mystery and ambiguity of running for elected office and we need to do a better job at supporting our conservative candidates when they’re attacked in public so others feel the support and are empowered to run for Office." —Robert Burns on X @RobertBurns82