N.C. Rep. Julia Howard left no stone unturned in her bid for the GOP nomination for re-election. Her safe Davie-East Iredell district had been mangled in the realignment process last year, chopping off Iredell and replacing it with Lewisville, Pfafftown and the western edge of Winston-Salem.
They didn’t know her on the eastern side of the Yadkin River. They do now.
Running against Forsyth County commissioner Bill Whiteheart, owner of a billboard company, Howard surprisingly carried Forsyth County, 2,730 to 2,294, leading in all but two of the district’s 11 Forsyth precincts.
Meanwhile, Davie County swarmed to her defense, voting for their resident incumbent 6,893 to 1,756. In Forsyth, 34 percent of the registered voters cast ballots; in Davie, 45 percent voted.
When my son, enrolled at the University of Oklahoma, applied for an absentee ballot, a hand-written letter from the Howard campaign arrived almost at the same time. Howard battled for every vote, even a safe one 1,700 miles away. Robert served as her legislative page during high school.
Howard showed up for public events in Lewisville, presented the Order of the Long Leaf Pine to the retiring town manager and assured Lewisville voters she would be their representative as well as Davie’s.
Unlike many legislative incumbents who grow weary of facing the voters every two years, Howard seemed energized by the challenge of meeting new voters and keeping old friends. It was an old-fashioned political blowout.

No, Billionaire Buffett
Didn’t Buy Newspaper

The phone calls started early Friday morning after the Winston-Salem Journal had delivered the news about its new owner, Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world.
“Did he buy you too?” callers repeatedly asked.
Nope. He couldn’t afford us. Some found that funny.

Fire Trucks, Ambulances
Need Room on Highways

Two Farmington firefighters escaped without serious injuries when their tanker truck overturned May 8. The accident is another reminder that those awkward water bottles on wheels need to be given plenty of room when they are on …