By L.A. Williams
Christian Action League
March 9, 2018
It’s been almost two years since the North Carolina Legislature passed HB 2 to limit ladies rooms to ladies and men’s rooms to men, and nearly a year since the law was replaced with a compromise bill to help the state and the city of Charlotte mend their fences. But pro-LGBTQ businesswoman Beth Monaghan has decided to make the issue the centerpiece of her campaign for the North Carolina Senate. She is vowing to unseat fellow Republican Dan Bishop, who helped author HB 2.
“I feel this is my mission in life right now – to beat Dan Bishop,” Monaghan told the media.
Bishop, an attorney who served two terms on the Mecklenburg County Commission before his election to the N.C. House and then the N.C. Senate, is favored in the race.
“Even so, politics is politics, meaning you should never take anything for granted,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “This being said, and I speak strictly for myself, Republicans need to show up to vote for a rock-solid Republican, and that’s not Beth Monaghan. It’s Dan Bishop.”
Monaghan has blamed Bishop and HB 2 for a laundry list of ills in the Tar Heel state, saying that had the law not passed North Carolina could pay teachers more and would have stronger infrastructure. A business coach and consultant who founded and later sold an accounting firm, she said the bill damaged the state’s “brand.”
But Creech said Bishop’s defense of moral values is commendable.
“I have the upmost respect for Dan Bishop. He’s not only a brilliant lawyer and legislator, but he’s quite articulate – a strong defender of what’s morally right. Moreover, he’s courageous. I deeply appreciated his principled stand in support of HB 2, for which he suffered much unjust criticism,” Creech said.
“It would be a travesty of justice if someone who says she beams with pride for a cause that supports men in women’s bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms, were elected in place of a man who championed the common-sense values of HB 2.”
Monaghan and Bishop will be far from alone on the primary ballot May 8. For the first time anyone can remember, every state legislative seat will be contested in this year’s general election come November. Further, all but one congressional district will feature a contested race.
The NC Family Policy Council reported that every incumbent in the U.S. House filed for re-election, with only House District 3, currently represented by Republican Walter Jones, to be decided in the Primary, since there is no opposing party candidate.
In the N.C. Senate, five incumbent Republicans and one seated Democrat did not file for re-election, but at least one person from each party filed to fill all 50 seats. And in the N.C. House, three Republicans chose to give up a shot at keeping their seats to run for Senate. A half dozen others chose not to file at all, as did three House incumbent Democrats.
According to the Family Policy Council, at least one Republican and one Democrat filed in all but one of the State House seats, the exception being District 24, where no Republican filed, but an unaffiliated candidate did opt to run.
For a complete list of candidates, visit the State Board of Elections website and click on 2018 State Filing List under the Elections tab.
Voter registration for the May primary ends on April 13. One-stop early voting will be held from April 19 to May 5.