State Republican Party Elects New Chairman

by Mark Johnson (The Charlotte Observer) - December 3rd, 2006 - The News & Observer

GREENSBORO - Republican Party leaders elected former Charlotte teacher and longtime party officer Linda Daves as their state chairman Saturday, rebuffing calls for an overhaul of the party's top ranks after election defeats last month.
Daves' victory was also a rejection of a proposal by several Republican officials, including the state's U.S. senators, to postpone the election in hopes of recruiting another candidate.

There was a very strong feeling among the grassroots of the Republican Party that delaying the election was not supported or appreciated. Various motives were imputed to the desire of the Senators which annoyed the party faithful. The heart and sole of the party is still the local elected officials and there was little desire among those people and their supporters to let the national party control the state.

Executive Committee Was Well Attended By Grassroots To
Stop Burr And Dole From Delaying Election

When the most important election was held, for party chairman, Linda Daves managed to get a slight majority on the first ballot. There was appreciation by many that Linda has paid her dues, having served for over 8 years as the Vice-Chairman of the party and done well in that role. It was also felt by some that she was not a part of the recent infighting that so damaged the party.

Linda Daves (In Center) Talks With Some Of GOP Staff

The closeness of the election though reflected a desire by many to start with a clean slate. It was a concern that Daves may not have done enough to try and help kill the internal wars that were occuring before Ferrell Blount's recent departure. The question still hangs over Daves, whether she is stong enough and persuasive enough to stop the various factions from continuing their bickering.

At this point it looks like she will be given a chance to perform. Her victory shows she has enough support to get her shot at turning the party around. I wish her good luck. We need her to do well.

Check out the Chairman's bio page on the North Carolina Republican Party web site for more details of Linda's background:
http://www.ncgop.org/leadership/ncgop.asp#1