Only in North Carolina?

I'll try not to say too much about yesterday's presidential primaries (a promise I intend to break promptly in my next post), but I'll shine some light on other items of interest.

North Carolina had a full slate electoral contests this year - the presidential nomination, of course, but also contests for the two parties' nods for Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and a whole slew of down-ticket offices (around here, even officials such as the Commissioners of Insurance, Labor, and Agriculture are elected, which presumably asks a lot of voters).

None of that has anything to do with this however: a candidate for the State House, Stan Morse, arguing that his challenger was more electable (to say nothing of "better looking and smarter"), endorses his opponent and goes so far as to make a preemptive concession speech and campaign on his supposed opponent's behalf. The voters, however, were not having any of it and simply renominated Morse with nearly 55% of the vote.

Only in North Carolina? Perhaps not, but it's certainly amusing.

Two additional, tangential notes: first off, for all things political in the state, there's no better source than the Raleigh News & Observer's blog Under the Dome. Second, the N&O should be congratulated - their reporting on state and local elections provides an incredibly detailed accounting of voting, including maps of geographic distribution and turnout data. I wish every publication was this committed covering elections.

I'm Back

Yes, again, I'm back. For an indeterminate length of time. To produce an unspecified and entirely random number of "intellectual" "gems" for you to admire. Enjoy!