May 31, 2022
From the Desk of Shelley Allen
Acting Chairwoman
Brunswick County Democratic Party
Dear Brunswick County Democrats:
I’m writing you today to share some important information about our May 17th primary election results.
First, thank you so much for voting and for any help you provided our candidates. If you did not participate, I urge you to become active in the general election and to vote in November!
This fall, control of both our North Carolina General Assembly AND our U.S. Congress — House and Senate — is on the line. The outcome will determine much about the future of our democracy. Will voting rights and fair elections be upheld? Will women’s rights be protected or curtailed? Will we choose to protect the safety of our children — and all of our citizens — or continue to loosen restrictions on gun ownership?
The great news is that you, our voters, gave us an outstanding group of candidates to run against the Republicans this November. Here’s a quick look at our slate and why we are so excited to support them.
Cheri Beasley For U.S. Senate
Cheri Beasley, the U.S. Senate candidate at the top of our ticket, garnered 81% of the vote in her landslide victory to fill the seat of retiring Senator Richard Burr. As you may know, Cheri was our state’s former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
Shortly after the primary election, a small group of Brunswick Democrats and I were honored to meet with Cheri and assure her that we in Brunswick County would be working hard to help ensure her victory over her Trump-endorsed rival, Ted Budd. Media reports are listing this North Carolina Senate seat as one of the “five most flippable Senate seats” in the November election.
Attending our meeting after the Primary Election with two of our three candidates were, from left, Brunswick County Democratic Party 3rd Vice Chair Mike Rush, 2nd Vice Chair Kristine Garrity, NC General Assembly Candidate Eric Terashima, U.S. Senate Candidate Cheri Beasley, Acting BCDP Chair Shelley Allen, BCDP Spokesperson Lon Anderson, BCDP Member Claudia Tidwell, and Joanne Levitan, State Executive Committee Member.
Charles Graham For U.S. House of Representatives
For our Congressional seat, Democratic voters selected Charles Graham — an educator who has served for 12 years in the North Carolina General Assembly — as our choice to defeat Republican David Rouzer this fall. Graham started his campaign with a bang, gaining national attention for his first viral digital ad, including an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon and others.
His opponent, Rep. David Rouzer, was one of the House Republicans who voted to overturn the legitimate election of President Biden and supported the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He has voted repeatedly against President Biden’s infrastructure funding bills, which are providing North Carolina with hundreds of millions of dollars for much-needed projects.
Eric Terashima For N.C. House of Delegates
To say our former Brunswick Party Chair, retired Marine Colonel Eric Terashima, is off to a strong start would be an understatement. Not only did he win his race in a landslide with 75% of the vote, he received the endorsement of Planned Parenthood for his unwavering support of women’s rights.
Eric, who is running for the 17th District House Seat, is facing 7-term, 80-year-old incumbent, Frank Iler, who votes in lockstep with the GOP‘s radical agenda. His votes include: reducing handgun purchase requirements, increasing funding for charter and private schools, limiting what teachers can teach, and supporting the overturning of legitimate presidential elections.
We Need Your Help Now!
You can easily see why I think the primary election has resulted in a strong ticket for us. Our primary winners believe in and support our democracy and the sanctity of our elections, in voting rights and women’s rights — upholding Roe v. Wade, in sensible gun safety measures, and in working to meet the needs of everyday North Carolinians.
We also have an outstanding slate of democratic judges on the ticket this November. We’ve seen how crucial our judiciary is, as evidenced by the radical decisions being handed down by the activist, illegitimate majority on the current U.S. Supreme Court. We must ensure that judges with democratic values are elected to preserve our rights and our votes here in North Carolina. As one of our judicial candidates says, “don’t stop at the top” of your ballot!
Finally, we have two local candidates, dedicated to our children, running for the Brunswick County Board of Education, Cameron Hankins and Bill Flythe.
You’ve done a great job so far by electing three outstanding Democratic primary candidates to face the Republicans in November. Now, they, and the rest of our democratic slate, will face tough battles to get elected. Defeating their Republican opponents this fall is going to take the collective work and contributions of all of us! Turnout is key, and right is on our side.
Thank you so much, and we’ll look for you on the campaign trail!
To learn more about all of our candidates, visit our website here.
Coming soon to the website: more detailed information about each of our candidates.
Please contact us to volunteer — it’s all hands on deck this year! Volunteer here.
