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TJ Rohr and possibly the best shot at a State Assembly seat in North Carolina


Rarely can a Libertarian run for public office as any sort of incumbent, but that's not the case with TJ Rohr of the Lenoir City Council.

He's challenging long-time incumbent Ed Starnes in House District 87, and generating real coverage in the Caldwell County News-Topic:

The race for one of Caldwell County's seats in the North Carolina General Assembly has become a three-way affair.

Lenoir City Councilman Timothy (T.J.) Rohr said he is running as a Libertarian candidate for the 87th District House of Representatives, having secured the party's nomination for the Nov. 4 general election at a recent executive committee meeting. Rohr joins seven-term incumbent Republican Edgar Starnes, along with Democrat and former Bank of Granite Chairman John Forlines Jr., on the ballot....

Known for his vigorous dissents during city council meetings that often result in 6-1 votes, Rohr said has entered the campaign with the intention of achieving victory. No Libertarian has won a seat in the N.C. General Assembly, though the party has claimed victories in other state assemblies such as Alaska and New Hampshire.

"I'm not in the race to be a spoiler or difference maker," Rohr, 39, said. "I'm in the race to win it. I definitely think I could be a better representative for the citizens and taxpayers of the county. I've got a one-in-three chance. There's only two other guys that can say that."...

"Libertarians are seen as extreme, but we are actually the middle ground," Rohr said. "We are socially liberal and economically conservative. (Democrats and Republicans) are both big government. I am small government."

Elected to the Lenoir Council in 2003 after being involuntarily annexed into the city, Rohr has championed an anti-tax position, along with taking a critical view on receiving federal and state grants for municipal projects. Rohr was re-elected last year....


Regular readers here may remember Rohr as the attorney who joined us in taking the North Carolina Bar Association to task for excluding Michael Munger from their gubernatorial debate.

If he believes he's got a chance, I'm inclined to agree.
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David said…
That is where it starts.
July 11, 2008 at 9:29 PM
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