As Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts starts what’s expected to be a difficult re-election campaign, she has focused on someone more than 300 miles away: President Donald Trump.
In fundraising emails to supporters, the Democratic mayor said Trump is “moving at a breakneck pace on his dangerous agenda” and has “peddled racist, xenophobic and sexist statements.” She blasted the president’s “toxic environment,” which includes having federal immigration officials “detain crime victims who report their assailants.”
She said Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has ideals that would result in the “poisoning of North Carolina’s schools” and criticized Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch for ruling “against birth control access multiple times in his career.”
In another campaign email, Roberts said the General Assembly will “play games” with the state’s economy by not repealing House Bill 2, and she told supporters last week the state’s and federal government’s recent actions “have been absolutely horrifying for LGBTQ civil rights.”
In her emails to supporters, the Roberts campaign occasionally talks about city issues such as supporting city bonds and building infrastructure.
But the main theme, through the start of March, at least, is: I will fight Republicans in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.
Roberts has at least two high-profile Democratic opponents who intend to focus on local issues: Mayor Pro Tem Vi Lyles and State Sen. Joel Ford.
Experts say Roberts may effectively tap into the rage felt by Democrats across the city.
And if she can win the Democratic primary, her strong words may not hurt her with moderate voters in a general election.
In Charlotte, there are twice as many Democratic voters as Republican voters. In the presidential election, Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in Mecklenburg County, 62-33 percent.
But her strong words could also deepen an already wide gulf between the city and the Republican-controlled General Assembly in Raleigh.
National Democratic political consultant Michael Halle, who managed Anthony Foxx’s 2011 mayoral re-election campaign, said Foxx used some national issues to his advantage that year, specifically his close relationship with then President Barack Obama. He said the campaign didn’t feel like Foxx needed to run against the Republicans in Congress who were blocking Obama’s agenda.
“We didn’t have a primary so we weren’t trying to capture an element of the base,” Halle said.
Halle said Democrats are especially angry this year, and the Roberts campaign is likely tapping into their frustration.
Emails about Trump may make people more likely to donate than an email talking about transit and improving neighborhoods, he said.
In the most recent campaign finance report, which ran from the summer through the end of the year, Roberts had raised $49,000 – with $3,300 coming from mostly credit card donations of $50 or less. Most of those small donations came after Trump was elected president.
“My guess is (the anti-Trump emails) are the things that are working to raise money,” he said. “The real question will be when they start communicating through paid ads and social media. What are they saying there?”
The Democratic and Republican primaries are Sept. 12.
“In her first campaign and in this re-election campaign we have always had a robust online fund raising operation,” said Roberts campaign manager Sam Spencer. “The legislature and President Trump have stirred up a lot of fear and concern among the people. The mayor will be talking to her supporters about these real concerns.”
Lyles’ campaign has focused on local issues. After the Keith Scott protests and riots, Lyles released a seven-point plan that she believes will help the city heal. It includes building more affordable housing faster and strengthening the Citizens Review Board, which helps oversee the police department.
“What I believe is that the mayor has to lead our city, and doing good things where our citizens work and feel safe in every part of our community,” Lyles said.
She added: “I’m focusing on local issues in my campaign because that’s what’s important to me. We can’t change what’s happening nationally, but we can create change here in Charlotte. That’s what I want to do as mayor.”
[READ MORE: Without Mayor Roberts, City Council issues letter supporting Chief Putney]
Ford said he also plans to run on local issues.
“It’s all local,” he said. “It’s about crime, traffic, job creation, worker training. It is basic local government.”
Ford is a member of the General Assembly, whose members have blasted Roberts during debates, saying she has a partisan agenda and can’t be trusted.
“Her anti-General Assembly rhetoric has to stop,” Ford said. “It is not helpful and it’s not productive.”
Neither Lyles nor Ford had started seriously fundraising yet, at least not through the most recent campaign finance report ending Dec. 31.
Steve Harrison: 704-358-5160, @Sharrison_Obs
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