Email
Print
Kissell's win steeped in Biscoe background
James Nix / jnix@independenttribune.com
Larry Kissel, right, Democratic challenger for North Carolina's 8th Congressional District, greets Judy McCord, of Concord, and her son Chip Powell, during a stop at his election night results party at J.F.'s County Kitchen in Biscoe Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: November 5, 2008
BISCOE — The roads leading to Biscoe are long-bounding stretches of asphalt running through North Carolina's central Piedmont.
Large signs and homemade placards of Republican candidates such as John McCain and Robin Hayes pockmark the view of the oak trees which line the highways. That seemingly Republican stronghold makes Democrat Larry Kissell's rise to prominence all the more unlikely, and Tuesday's victory over Republican stalwart Hayes all the more unbelievable.
Kissell's political ambitions began in 2005 when he started his first campaign against then four-time incumbent Hayes. Kissell has said that it was Hayes' vote switch on the Central American Free Trade Agreement that compelled him to run. Hayes had been opposed to the measure but changed his mind and cast one of the deciding votes for it.
UNC Charlotte political science professor Eric Heberlig said Kissell's 2006 challenge was aided by public distrust of Republicans brought on by the war in Iraq but was damaged by the challenger's relative obscurity.
Democrats picked up 30 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. Kissell lost his bid by only 329 votes.
"This year, what we're seeing is even more damage to the Republican brand," Heberlig said. "The Democrats have been aided by that and (President-Elect) Sen. Barack Obama's campaign of voter registration … It has little to do with what Hayes did wrong or what Kissell did right."
Democrats picked up 17 seats in the U.S. House in 2008 and five in the U.S. Senate.
But many supporters and volunteers disagree with the notion that Kissell's victory was brought on by a national distrust of Republican candidates. Kissell's campaign was steeped in the grassroots appeal he used in 2006, but this cycle his coffers were flush with nearly $2 million donated by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to help purchase advertising.
Tami Vogel, 28, a Charlotte volunteer since 2005, said Kissell's campaign of knocking on district doors to address voters concerns on the micro level was the key to his victory.
"Larry is the candidate who would be willing to come to you and see what he can do for you in Washington," she said. "He was the candidate who people rooted for because he was like them. It was all about the ground game."
Vogel, who is credited with introducing Kissell to Mecklenburg County in 2005, said the first campaign helped create momentum for the 2008 victory.
Natalie Blake, 24, a 2006 volunteer and long-time friend of Kissell, said it was that appeal to voters, which was fashioned in his Biscoe roots, that gave him the win.
"A lot of people around here are pretty historically Republican, but they were willing to vote for Larry because they knew who he was," Blake said. "They knew what he stood for and it was what the people of Biscoe stood for."
Biscoe is town of about 2,000 residents and is like others in the 8th District. It is a pastoral safe haven that saw booms and subsequent busts with its textile driven economy. Unlike Kannapolis, which found biotechnology, Biscoe is still searching for new industries as textile mills have closed operations due to overseas competition and lagging sales.
Kissell is a 27-year veteran of textiles with his work at Russell Hosiery in the neighboring town of Star and a high school civics teacher in Montgomery County. His platform was supported by promising job creation, and he attacked Hayes on the increase in unemployment in the district over his 10-year tenure. Kissell stumped for energy independence, "green collar" job creation and higher education standards for students in the new global economy as part of this plan.
Greg Shuping, 44, owner of the Biscoe BP, said he voted for Kissell because they share similar views on several issues, including the economy. He hopes to see jobs returning to Biscoe.
"We need more industries here," he said. "The mills have been moving out and we need more jobs here. Everybody is hurting because of this."
As Kissell lobbed accusations at Hayes, the entrenched Republican fought back, saying Kissell didn't pay Social Security benefits for staffers and wasn't right for the district. A poll conducted by Elon University days before the election found that 64 percent of North Carolinians didn't find campaign commercials helpful, saying many were too negative.
Hayes was labeled again as negative after saying "liberals hate real Americans" at a McCain presidential rally in Concord two weeks before the election. Kissell latched onto the comment and Hayes' original denial that he made the statement, calling Hayes dishonest and divisive.
Although a change in voting blocks, ground game, jobs and gaffes played a role in the election, Kissell said it was people's faith in him that should get the lion's share of the credit.
"People heard what I had to say and were willing to listen to a guy like me," he said at an impromptu victory celebration Tuesday. "They had faith that I would represent them to the best of my abilities in Washington, that I would take their ideals with me."
Kissell will be sworn into office in January but will only be granted a few months before he'll need to begin campaigning for his 2010 venture for the seat. Hayes didn't condemn the idea that he would run again after making his concession speech, but didn't discuss what his future political plans would be.
"Campaigning ended tonight," Kissell said Tuesday. "Working for these people begins tomorrow."
• Contact reporter Josh Lanier: 704- 789-9144
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Click a region for news specific to that area.
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
Advertisement
