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This ends the live blogging session.  Good day!

4:49 Robin Hayes wins on the first and only  ballot. Your blogger is surprised with the vote totals but congratulates Robin Hayes as our new Chairman.  God bless America, we have a new Chairman.  Time to heal and move on!  Please help us pull together so we can continue what we started and bring positive change to North Carolina.

4:47  Vote Pruett 29, Kindley 21, Johnson, 47, Hayes wins with 241

4:23 Ballots in.  Announcements first.  Come on!

4:13  KCC just received her first ballot.  Gotta find a pen…

4:07  More instructions on voting.  Ballots about to be distributed.  There will be only 2 ballots today for Chairman.  The top two vote winners will face off on the second and final ballot.  Should Tim Johnson win the Chairmanship, there will be an election for vice chairman.  It is possible that there may be only one ballot for the chairmans’ race.

The Elephants Plan on stomping around the North Carolina General Assembly this year.

4:05  Finally time for voting to begin.  Another speech.  oh no.  Making sure that no one votes who isn’t supposed to vote.  Speaker joked that they wanted to make sure no Democrats voted.  Our name tags are our “tickets” to receive a packet of ballots.

4:01 Robin Hayes: People want to be identified with.  As I look at the promises, the possibilities we have as Republicans, I want to go to work to raise money for YOU not for me, as YOU are a worthy cause.  I was in the Farmer’s Market today having breakfast today with a former staffer.  He’s working with Agriculture now.  That’s the kind of contacts, knowledge, and desire I bring to the table. Hayes emphasized his ability to raise money, vs Bob Pruett‘s talk on the organization of precincts.

Telling the story of his teaching fellowship at Harvard.  ”Can you imagine me, a teaching fellow at the Crimson on the Charles?”  Mentioned a time he was at an NRA fundraiser and ran into an opposition researcher.  The researcher told him that Hayes was the first guy that he’d ever done research against when he couldn’t find anything he could use.  This speech was humble but full of strength.  A sort of contradiction.

3:54  Tim Johnson: “First thing I must say is that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior…I must also give honor to my wife who has given me such great support as I have traveled from one end of the state to another.  I haven’t been paid one dime.  There is a rumor that I offered my receipts but that was one time, back in July and it was denied and since I’ve paid my own way. ”

Johnson also addressed charges that he had a fake military record.  ”If I was faking it, I’d be a General by now,” he said to much laughter.  He also addressed “bloggers” who wrote bad things about him.   That was NOT this blogger, not this time, no way!

“Let’s be real clear about what is going on in our party.  In 1870 there were black Republicans in the General Assembly but not one black Republican today. ”  He also addressed the tea party. On the possibility of losing:  ”It’s okay with me, because it’s in God’s hands. I can walk out of here if I lose and I’ll still have my loving wife and I’ll still go to church in the morning.”

Your blogger must admit, Mr. Johnson is an gifted, and smooth voiced speaker.  However,  he spoke so quickly, it was hard to keep up with him.

Apologies to Tim Johnson in the event we misquoted him.  Your blogger gave it her best try!  We appreciate your service as vice chairman.

3:49  Our next chairman must be a bridge to the tea party people, says Marcus Kindley. ” I’ve already been that bridge”, having sponsored buses taking people to tax day rally on Washington mall, 9/12 rally, etc

Our most important job is” boots on the ground”.  ”If money was the most important, then Meg Whitman would be the Governor of California, as she outspent her opponent (Gov Moonbeam – Jerry Brown) by 14 to 1.”

3:38 Marcus Kindley is giving his campaign speech.  After speaking with a number of members of the executive committee, your blogger is surprised at how many are still undecided, even now!

GOP Elephant

3:43 Bob Pruett is now speaking.  He created the county chairmans’ association in NC. 25 years service in the United States Marine Corps and served two tours in Vietnam.  Says he’s involved in the grassroots and he just jumped in the race yesterday.  We need to “hit the ground running”.

Within two weeks, he says that we start the process of electing new leadership at the “very basic ground level”.  Precinct meetings begin.  Says many precincts aren’t organized and we need to know which ones we need to organize.  Need precinct chairmen with “zip”.  Plans to only be only an interim chairman until the next is elected at the NC GOP State Convention in June/July.  (Will have exact dates later).

3:38 While KCC was offline, both Bob Pruett of Carteret County was nominated, along with current vice chairman Timothy Johnson. Pruitt was nominated by Marilyn Burns (unsure her county) and Johnson was nominated by his wife, Kathy Johnson (Durham County).  KCC regrets bringing you limited information on these two nominees.

Sorry folks.  Your blogger’s internet decided to go haywire.  Verizon, this is on you!  Verizon, sponsor this blog and we will stop giving you a hard time!!!  KCC is one of your best customers, arrrrgh.

3:27 Ron ___ (Stokes County) is now nominating Marcus Kindley, former chairman of the Guilford County Republican Party for “a number of years”.  Says Kindley is great at “Precinct development”.  Says he gets to “know Republicans” and gets them working within municipalities across the state.  Calls him a “proud conservative Republican”.

3:25 Donna Willis (Anson County), seconds nomination of Robin Hayes. Martha Jenkins of Orange County also seconds the nomination of Hayes.

3:20 David Black, one of the district chairmen, has come to the mic to nominate former Congressman Robin Hayes with a seemingly negative speech towards the unnamed “current leadership.”   Says Hayes can raise the funds to “get the message out at the most important levels – precincts and counties”.

3:18 Finally onto New Business, the election of the Chairman.  Phil Strauch is reading the rules.

3:17  David Lewis presents Tom Fetzer a “Dollar-a-Day” brochure to be filled out and returned.  Fetzer came up with the idea that “a dollar a day keeps the Democrats away” and used the idea to raise funds for the party.  Your  blogger hopes the new chairman will keep this in place.

3:16  Dr. Fisher: National 2012 is going to be a one billion dollar race and the Democrats will target North Carolina.  We must be prepared for this.  Fisher also thanks outgoing chairman “Mr. Thomas Fetzer, because in the words of the cable guy, he got it done!”

3:12  Presentation by National Committee members, state Rep. David Lewis, and Dr. Ada Fisher.  Discussing how the RNC vote went yesterday.

3:10  Had the privilege of sitting with new Rep. Jonathan Jordan.  Minutes ago. Was fortunate enough to work with him at the John Locke Foundation.  Rep. Jordan is a sincere individual and exemplifies the highest levels of personal integrity.  This blogger is thrilled to see him again so KCC can personally congratulate him on his election.

3:07 Fetzer: Do not give up on our legislators. They have to solve a big deficit and must redraw the political boundaries.

In 2010, all we did was put these people on the beaches at Normandy.  We are the majority party and we don’t have the luxury of those little fights. – Tom Fetzer

3:06  Fetzer: Please ignore the idiot bloggers.   Ouch, this blogger works hard to get it right.  But we know plenty of idiot bloggers in the state for sure!

3:04  Fetzer: Don’t ever let politics come before the important people in your life.  Your blogger has learned this too and had to dial back her participation in party politics so she can raise her son and be a good wife.  Good point, Mr. Fetzer!

Irresponsible bloggers were among the least welcome today.

3:03 Fetzer prayed about what to do with his life.  So he ran for chairman.  ”Before you say ‘God ordained him to be chairman’, you have to remember that I didn’t exactly get elected in a landslide.”

3:01 Tom Fetzer and NCGOP executive director Russell Peck are on stage.  Fetzer is honoring him and has asked for standing ovation for Peck.  Fetzer showed off the cover of the Raleigh News and Observer, published the day after the 2010 election.   Now he’s talking about how he got involved in running for party chairman.

2:51 Vote on proposed rules adopted.  Next approval of the minutes.  Naturally, things are going much slower than predicted.  The NC GOP has only reserved this room at the hotel until 4.  KCC hopes the hotel will be flexible since they bring them so much business.

2:50 Motion to amend the rule failed after a long vote count, and we move on.

2:31  Currently debating the aforementioned rule.

2:26 Meeting Chairman Phil Strauch has explained that only the top two candidates from the first round of balloting will move into “the finals”.  Thus there will be only two rounds of balloting.

2:24 Currently a number of members of the Exec. Committee have risen to make points which are out of order.  Your blogger had to giggle a bit to herself.  Many are unaware parliamentary procedure and don’t mind making their views know, either in or out of order.

2:19  Credentials Committee 273 seated members of the Exec Committee present.

2:14 Giving financial reports, finance chairman Kieran Shanahan.  Despite our party being outspent, we still had enough to “close the gap” to get our message out.  It was a “great team effort”, he concluded.  Handing financials over to next team in great shape.  Next up credentials committee report.

2:12 pm  Tom Fetzer is being honored as the best fundraiser in the history of the state GOP.

Today, KCC is bringing you live coverage of the North Carolina Republican Party’s Executive Committee Meeting.  The full executive committee usually doesn’t meet more than once per year, but this meeting is special due to the resignation of current chairman Tom Fetzer.

Keep refreshing this page for more updates!

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