<font color=brown>Trouble in paradise?<font color=black>
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Friday, July 16, 2004 · Last updated 10:46 a.m. PT
Campaign divides N.C. Republican Party
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- This picture-perfect country town of quaint storefronts and golf courses has become the site of a nasty political battle that has torn North Carolina's Republican Party in two.
Richard Morgan, co-speaker of the House and the highest-ranking Republican in state government, has become the No. 1 target of the conservative wing of his own party and faces a tough primary challenge Tuesday.
Opponents accuse him and a handful of allies of selling out to broker a power-sharing agreement with Democrats that made him co-Speaker of the House. Detractors say he has since been behaving like a Democrat, especially on issues such as taxes.
The spat has created an extraordinarily bitter primary battle between Morgan and political novice Peggy Crutchfield, who have exchanged a series of attack ads in recent weeks.
Morgan had raised $676,000 by the end of June - compared with $54,000 for Crutchfield - and taken the battle beyond his own district, funneling money to challengers trying to oust House GOP incumbents he views as disloyal.
"I look at this as the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Morgan said. "I've written a lot of checks to try to help them win their elections. I'm interested in helping the folks who have helped me."
Since Crutchfield announced her candidacy in January, anti-Morgan forces have lined up behind her. In May, the Executive Committee of the state Republican Party adopted a resolution that bars Morgan from holding party titles for five years.
Crutchfield, a former local United Way chairwoman, said Morgan's obsession with building a political fiefdom in Raleigh has caused him to forget his constituents back home.
"He has been unaccessible to people in the community," she said during an interview at her Southern Pines headquarters. "I do realize that you have to work with both sides of the aisle at the North Carolina Legislature, but you don't give up your principles. You don't betray your teammates."
Critics also say Morgan drew the state's legislative boundaries last year to benefit allies at the expense of his Republican enemies. Some GOP incumbents got lumped into the same new districts, and others now face difficult primary challenges.
Morgan's fund-raising for allies in other districts is not unusual in North Carolina. Legislative leaders frequently raise large amounts of money, then distribute it to friends for their own races.
North Carolina is holding other high-profile elections this year, including U.S. Senate and governor, but the fight does not appear to have spilled into other races.
The feud dates to the 1990s, when Morgan butted heads with Majority Leader Leo Daughtry. The fighting intensified after the 2002 elections that appeared to give the GOP control of the House, with the party holding a 61-59 advantage.
But Morgan and a handful of other House members refused to endorse Daughtry for speaker. One House member switched parties to spite Daughtry, dividing the chamber at 60.
Morgan and Democratic Rep. Jim Black later cut a deal to share the speakership, angering Republicans who believed Morgan betrayed them.
The fight between Morgan and Crutchfield has alienated some voters, while intriguing others in Moore County, about 100 miles east of Charlotte.
"The race has turned nasty," said Bob Kennedy, a golf ranger at the Pinehurst Resort, after finishing a BLT at Mac's Breakfast Anytime in Southern Pines. He does not know whom he will vote for, but does not blame Morgan for working with Democrats. "I think any leader has got to work with people and make accommodations."
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