The Iredell Republican Men’s Club (IRMC) hosted a forum for the N.C. House District 95 candidates. Grey Mills attended the March 13 event; Karen Ray did not attend or send a representative.
The Mooresville Tribune and the Statesville Record & Landmark both ran articles about the forum.

Ray wrote a letter to the editor of the Mooresville Tribune that charged, “The Men’s Club leaders have been very much responsible for the recruitment of opponents in my election efforts, both past and present.” It went on to say that the president of the IRMC “represents one small faction of the Republican Party in Iredell County and does not represent the entire Party. [the IRMC is] not a designee of the Republican Party in Iredell County, or the state, or the nation.”

To set the record straight, the Iredell Republican Men’s Club is an official auxiliary group of the state and county Republican Party. As such, the IRMC does not endorse or recruit candidates in primaries. While individual members may have their preferences, the Club remains strictly neutral in primary elections.

One of the purposes of the IRMC is to provide a forum for club members, and the general public, to meet and listen to candidates for public office.
Candidates for Congress, U.S. Senate, Governor, and other statewide offices have been featured speakers at IRMC meetings. Last summer a Presidential candidate, Congressman Duncan Hunter, spoke to a meeting of the Club. Several articles in prior editions of the Boone Report have been based on presentations made by candidates at IRMC meetings.

For the past several elections, the IRMC has held forums for the party’s candidates in county commissioner and legislative primaries. Every candidate who campaigned actively has attended, with one exception—Karen Ray.
The system works best when candidates for office attend events where they can make their pitch to, and respond to questions from, voters. For the most part, our local candidates have done so. It is unfortunate when one does not.
We have learned that the county Republican Party will host a candidate forum in late April, after this goes to press. It will be interesting to see whether both candidates attend this event.