October 17, 201810/17/2018 From the Right

Ted Budd and Kathy Manning: same district, different planets

Former Senator John Edwards once talked about "two Americas." He was talking about a perceived economic gulf, but there is a gaping cultural chasm here in North Carolina, and the congressional election battle in NC-13, which stretches from Greensboro to the northern suburbs of Charlotte, couldn't have been scripted to show it better. 

In a Cook Political Report update, which calls the race a "toss up," they add this: 

"This matchup may be the biggest culture clash in the country: Budd is a gun store owner and first-term Freedom Caucus member who homeschools his children in rural Davie County. Wealthy Democratic philanthropist Kathy Manning was the chief fundraiser for Greensboro's $78 million performing arts center scheduled to open next year."

"The biggest culture clash in the country"

But how can there be a giant culture clash when both candidates are wealthy, white and highly educated? 

The Cook Political Report touched on a couple of the differences, but it goes much deeper. Ted Budd is not just a rural, gun store owner homeschooling his kids. He is living on the same Davie County farm that he was raised on. He met his wife, Amy Kate, on a missionary trip overseas. His family has a series of successful small businesses in the area that include agriculture, janitorial services and security. He got an MBA from Wake Forest University and started his own business, a shooting range and gun store near where he grew up. 

Budd represents a North Carolina that many in the small towns and rural areas know well. It is conservative, Christian and values family, hard work and tradition. 

Kathy Manning's story feels relatable to another large, and growing, segment of North Carolinians though. She was born in Detroit, went to Harvard University, then went to the University of Michigan for law school. Manning used her law training to work immigration cases in a system she said needs "comprehensive reform." Her husband runs a multi-million dollar chemical company, and this, along with her own successes in the legal field, gave her the opportunity to become a leading philanthropist and campaign fundraiser. In addition to being the first woman head of the Jewish Federation of North America, she is the chief fundraiser for Greensboro's $80 million performing arts center. 

Manning represents a North Carolina that is cosmopolitan, diverse and politically progressive. Many of them, like her, may not have deep roots in the state. They are not just in Manning's home of Greensboro, but are well represented in Durham, Charlotte, Carrboro, Asheville, Raleigh and other urban areas. 

The strangers next door

While there is no doubt that both of these candidates "want what's best for North Carolina," and the nation as a whole, their visions of what that means are mutually exclusive. These two camps live side by side and rub shoulders everyday in this state, but they generally do not understand one another well. In fact, despite encouragements from their WWJD bracelets and "co-exist" bumper stickers, they may even be coming to loathe each other. 

Politics in North Carolina is a microcosm of America's political divides, and the race in NC-13 just happens to be a microcosm of that. Both sides are beginning to see the fight as a zero-sum game against someone they don't have many common interests with. They may even want civility to return, but like Hillary Clinton said last week, maybe only once the other side has been defeated. 

Watching Budd and Manning feels like seeing a Hollywood-scripted movie whose character stereotypes were a bit too on the nose. But it's not. Budd and Manning are real people from just miles apart -- the same district but very different worlds.