Kissell Preps For Re-Count, Chance To Beat Another GOP Incumbent

[SaveAmerica]

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/10274733/detail.html

Kissell Preps For Re-Count, Chance To Beat Another GOP Incumbent

POSTED: 2:29 pm EST November 8, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Emboldened after winning a U.S. House seat long held by Republicans, Democrats held hopes Wednesday of taking a second as they prepared for a re-count in a race GOP Rep. Robin Hayes leads by just 346 votes over Larry Kissell.

"Simply put, I am encouraged this morning," Kissell said in a statement issued by his campaign. "What the results tell me is that the people have spoken and they have demanded change. The proof is in the numbers. I beat Hayes in counties that he has traditionally won in the past. That's why I feel confident that once the votes are counted, that we will have taken our country back from the Washington politicians and special interests."

State Board of Elections director Gary Bartlett said his office was e-mailing county boards to determine how many provisional ballots were outstanding. Kissell's grass roots campaign, buoyed by an activist volunteer base, said it would place observers at every county Board of Elections office in the 8th District to monitor those counts.

The provisional ballots must be tallied before Tuesday's results are confirmed by the state in a canvas due Nov. 17. Only then can a re-count take place.


This is my district, we're still here waiting for the fat lady to sing.

[wildeyed]

1. Go Larry!

:woohoo:

Any idea how many provisionals/absentees are outstanding?

[SaveAmerica]

3. Unfortunately, there's no way to know until they're counted.

Thank you very much for all your support of the 8th, you've done a lot and I really appreciate it!!

[damntexdem]

9. Actually, if there's no way to know until they're counted, ...

that's fortunate.

It's much better than some recent elections where the results were known before, or in place of, the counting.

[cami715]

2. It is my district too

and I certainly hope the re-count gives Kissell the win. Hayes has never worked a day in his life and is not representative of the majority of the people in this district. His money has been able to buy his office. Hayes won only in 3 precincts - Cabarrus, Cumberland and Stanly counties. All the other precincts voted against him almost 2 to 1.

[blm]

8. I posted the Meck BOE numbers here at DU declaring Kissell won w/68% of the vote.

Heh.... then I picked up the Observer. Boy did my face turn red when I realized those were JUST Meck numbers.

[Mudoria]

10. I would love to see Kissell pull out the win

in a recount even if the odds are long that he will. He ran a great campaign against an extremely well funded and connected Republican. I could stomach Hayes as a Representative until the trade bill that he flip flopped on after swearing he would stand firm for the textile workers in his district. But when push came to shove and Bush put the pressure on he folded. Fuck him. I still find it hard to believe that Cabarrus and Stanly counties went for him considering how he screwed over the working citizens that live there...

[NYYFan]

4. As a North Carolinian, I say GO LARRY !

I can't believe with the Abramoff connections that Hayes even has a lead. :shrug:

[wildeyed]

5. He outspent Kissell something like 3-1.

If Kissell wins, this will be an amazing story. A high school social studies teacher beating the third richest man in congress.

:wow:

[tinymontgomery]

6. Hayes put out some real nasty ads

the last days of the campaign.

[wildeyed]

7. I saw one of them.

Made Kissell look all shifty eyed. Made claims that Kissell's campaign had been fined for unethical actions, when in reality, it had been a late filing charge :eyes:

[blm]

12. You couldn't escape those nasty ads - they blanketed the airwaves. Like every 30 seconds

one would pop up SOMEWHERE on cable.

[Joe Bacon]

11. Another One Bites the dust, PLEASE!

:kick:

[wildeyed]

13. Update

http://www.wsoctv.com/politics/10284155/detail.html

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There are still 1,492 provisional ballots to be counted in the undecided race for the 8th District U.S. House seat between Robin Hayes and Larry Kissell, state elections officials said Thursday.

Democratic challenger Kissell expressed optimism that he would be able to make up a 465-vote deficit in the unofficial count.

snip.....

Provisional ballot results are to be reported to the State Board of Elections on Nov. 17, along with final, official vote totals for the race.

If the margin of victory is less than 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate will then have one business day to request a recount, which would be completed within 48 hours, according to election officials.

In the unlikely scenario in which all 1,492 provisional ballots were upheld and contained votes in the congressional race, Kissell would have to win 979, or 66 percent, of the ballots to overcome his current disadvantage.

The provisional ballots are divided by county: Anson, 107; Cabarrus, 311; Cumberland, 281; Hoke, 103; Mecklenburg, 195; Montgomery, 69; Richmond, 100; Scotland, 186; Stanly, 99; Union, 41.

Hayes took 60 percent of the vote in Cabarrus, his home county, and 54 percent in Cumberland, which is home to Fayetteville.

[BeFree]

14. Pre-election poll

 Average polls                    Expected 
         Early       Latest         NOV.7          
Dis    Dem GOP     Dem GOP        Dem GOP   
NC 8   48   44     48    44     52.8  47.2  

• North Carolina’s 8th District: The final count of the
extremely close race in the south-central part of the state
will determine if Democrat Larry Kissell succeeded in his bid
to defeat four-term Republican Rep. Robin Hayes — which would
be one of the year’s biggest upsets — or fell just short. With
all precincts reporting in official returns, Incumbent Robin
Hayes (R) led Larry Kissell (D) by 456 votes out of more than
120,000 counted, a margin of two-tenths of 1 percen

[Marie26]

15. GO KISSELL!!!! nt