Local conservatives revolt against Trump House favorite

Some local Republicans are trying to spread the word that Trump's favored candidate in the 13th Congressional District is a carpetbagger, through newspaper advertisements, email blasts and door-knocking. In their opinion, the former president was wrong to endorse Hines.

The revolt against Trump by conservatives who adore him is not the first of its kind this year. In some cases, Trump has endorsed candidates who are unknown to local GOP officials and activists.

It feels like it is incumbent on us to make sure everyone knows that Bo is a fine fellow.

The conservative men's group, which formed last fall and meets in an outbuilding behind a gas station on the second Saturday of the month, is not endorsing any particular candidate in the race. Three other Republicans on the primary ballot are from the district, which would better represent the interests of voters.

Trump is going to be in eastern North Carolina this weekend to campaign on behalf of two other candidates who are running in the state's May 17 primary. The support of Trump for the Senate is behind Ted Budd, who has turned a corner as outside spending has increased in his favor. The freshman congressman from the western part of the state has angered top House Republicans after talking about orgies and cocaine.

In the election cycle, he was campaigning for other congressional seats. He filed to run in the 13th district on March 2, less than two weeks after Trump endorsed him.

A Charlotte native who most recently resided two hours away in Winston-Salem is moving to southern Wake County. He wants to update his voter registration in time to vote in the primary.

The conservative Club for Growth organized a meeting at Mar-a-Lago for Trump, Cawthorn, and Mark Walker, and POLITICO reported on it in December. The men tried to broker an arrangement that would clear the Senate field for Budd while also providing landing places for other candidates in several North Carolina races.

A series of court-ordered changes to North Carolina's congressional map this winter derailed the original plan of running in a district closer to home. He ran in the incumbent-free 13th district, which includes all of Johnston and parts of three other counties.

The only true America First, social conservative endorsed by President Donald Trump in this race, is the one who lives in Wake.

The past chair of the Johnston County Republican Party and a former state party executive committeeman listed several local newspapers in which his group began placing ads. They hope to keep running those and radio ads after Donald Trump Jr. headline a Reagan Day dinner. The group would follow campaign finance disclosure requirements, but they wouldn't say where the money was coming from.

The county's consistent conservative voting record and its role in helping to secure Trump's victories in the state are outlined in the print advertisement.

The Republican Party has been able to provide sound leadership and conservative government to the people of Johnston County over the past 34 years, according to the ad.

Bo Hines is a candidate for our congressman from the western part of North Carolina.

The Citizen Advocates for Accountable Government is trying to turn voters away from Hines, even as it backs Budd for Senate. Two weeks ago, members of the CAAG began going door to door to talk to voters about the issues they are fighting at the state legislature.

Dale Lands, the group's founder, said they will have volunteers at polling places throughout the district on Election Day and every weekend until the primary. They are endorsing DeVan Barbour in the congressional race.

We don't need Mr. Trump or anyone else who doesn't know anything about agriculture.

North Carolina Grassroots Government, a conservative group with a voting guide, has endorsed a candidate.

Lands plans to hand out literature at the Trump rally, but he won't attend because he doesn't want to offend anyone.

The chair of the Republican Party in the area said he still hasn't decided if he will attend the rally. The chair said that there has been very little communication with the local party about the rally, and that he is not aware of any locals who are scheduled to speak.

State party rules prevent county parties from endorsing in primaries, but the Johnston County GOP will support whoever gets the nomination. Mitchell isn't sure how far the anti-Hines sentiment has spread, but he is hearing concerns from some primary voters.

Mitchell said that you hear a lot about him not living in the district.

The B-roll of the former athlete pumping iron and jumping rope have already begun airing in the district, paid for by the campaign.

A super PAC for the Club for Growth has just launched an ad buy to support him in the primary.

On social media, he has posted photos and video of him door-knocking and placing yard signs. His campaign did not directly answer a question about what events he has hosted there or if he has received local endorsements, but said he has been focused on making this a true grassroots effort.

A person with knowledge of the event says that the campaign agreed that he would participate in a candidate forum after he left an event held by the Harnett County Republican Party.

In a year when Trump is attempting to assert his influence through a flood of primary endorsements, North Carolina isn't the only place where local conservative activists are trying to stop his endorsed candidate from securing the Republican nomination on the grounds of carpetbagging.

In Tennessee, the Republican-controlled legislature gave final approval to a bill that would effectively disqualify Trump's pick in the 5th Congressional District, Morgan Ortagus, because she only moved to the state last year.

Supporters of Ortagus, a former Trump State Department spokesman, have sued Tennessee. Key Republican activists insist she lacks basic knowledge of the area, citing an interview on conservative radio when Ortagus was unable to name interstates that run through the district or past governors of the state.

In Georgia, a Republican effort is underway to drive down support for Trump's Senate pick, retired football star Herschel Walker, who returned to the state last year after decades away. Gary Black, the state agriculture commissioner, argues that his GOP opponents have spent years investing in Georgia Republican politics and are more familiar with the issues facing the state.

Renee Ellmers, a former North Carolina congresswoman who represented part of Harnett County and is now running for the new congressional seat, said she plans to attend the weekend Trump rally and make her case to voters there despite his endorsement and his coveted speaking slot.

I know a lot of voters from NC-13 will be there, Ellmers said.

In an area where he had good support before, Trump felt the need to bring in an outside candidate for a primary.

This thing was disappointing. I'm pretty sure Trump doesn't know. That is the reason we are doing the ads.