GOP looks to unseat Rep. Kissell in 2010

CONCORD — Not more than two days after the 2009 municipal elections were in the books, the Cabarrus Republican Party was gearing up for the 2010 midterm elections.
The group hosted the candidates hoping to run against U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell next year.
The five candidates have varied backgrounds, but they all agreed on one thing: That Kissell, a first-term congressman from Biscoe, is not good for the 8th District.
Meeting at Troutman's Barbecue in Concord, the candidates gave their opening pitches to about 100 Cabarrus Republicans on why the club should back them as Kissell's opponent in May.

Tim D'Annunzio
Tim D'Annunzio, a former U.S. Army sergeant originally from Philadelphia, said he has the track record for job creation since he was a small business owner. He came to Concord, he said, to prove that he is a true conservative and believes in small government and a strong military.
On the national debt, he said, "We're stuck with the debt we've got whether we like it or not. We are faced with some hard times."
He is also pro-life, pro-gun and believes that only "true conservatives with a message of returning to the Constitution and restoring the foundations that made this nation great" should be elected to Congress.
"We need to restore our foundational principles," he said. "We are so far away from where we started."
After the military, D'Annunzio did contract work for NASA on parachutes, then started his own business. D'Annunzio is married to his wife, Colleen, and has six children.

Darrell Day
Raised in Indiana, Darrell Day resides in Hamlet and is running on a Christian conservative platform. Through his church, Outreach for Jesus, Day said he drives buses "through the projects and pick up kids and we make sure they have three things – a little food, a little fun and the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Day has also been on mission trips to Mexico and India. He talked about free trade and how globalist trade policies have affected the American economy.
"The main problem in America is elected officials not standing up to trade partners," he said. "The only way we can change this is to replace Larry Kissell. When there is a cause to fight for, you just don't give up."

Lou Huddleston
Lou Huddleston of Fayetteville is a retired colonel from the U.S. Army. After serving 31 years in the military, which included a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2003, Huddleston retired from service and entered the private sector.
He announced his candidacy to run against Kissell in October, and already has garnered attention from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Huddleston said running for office was a continuation of his public service.
"The problem we have now is we have a congressman in Larry Kissell," he said. "He has lurched to the left with (President Barack) Obama and Nancy Pelosi's agenda."
When asked why the Cabarrus Republicans should back him, Huddleston said he would "persevere in the face of adversity."
"If my helmet falls off, I will continue to run the ball," he said.
Huddleston is married to his wife, Freida, and has two children and one grandchild.

Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan, of Mecklenburg County, is the only candidate that has run for office before. He ran against former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black in 2006, and lost by 30 votes. He also ran for the Mecklenburg County Commission in 2008.
Jordan works for IBM and has a private sector background and a free-market sensibility.
"We are going down a path where we need to get government spending under control," he said. "That person we back, we must make sure they go back to the principles our country is based on."
To encourage job creation, Jordan said small businesses need less regulation.
"I consider it a service we give to you," Jordan said, "and I am not afraid of a fight."
Jordan is married to his wife, Jeannine, and has four children.

Bob Palisin
Bob Palisin, of Concord, is a retired Presbyterian minister and is the parish associate at Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church. He filed after the deadline for the candidate forum and did not speak, but did attend the forum.
Palisin said he is running because he wants to turn America back to its original intent.
"Less government is better," he said. "We need to work toward paying off the debt by cutting spending and buying war bonds."
He also said he refuses to buy anything that is made in China. "I buy American," he said. "I want to see the nation improve and change and go back to what it was. You just can't look to the future and forget the past."
Palisin attended Westminster College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

• Contact Web reporter Ben McNeely: 704-789-9131