Congratulations to Renee Ellmers!...and to Sarah Palin for being the lone political figure to endorse her candidacy.

Congratulations to Renee Ellmers!

After a contentious recount, Democrat incumbent, Bob Etheridge has officially conceded the congressional race in North Carolina's 2nd District to Renee Ellmers. Many will remember the embarrassing encounter he had this past summer with two college students who were merely asking Rep. Etheridge if he supports the agenda of House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.



One would think that a flood of support would come her way after this episode. Not exactly. Here's what an NRCC strategist had to say in july.

"It’s not a race we’re focused on. We’re still continuing to monitor it given the district’s Republican lean and Bobby Etheridge’s record and high-profile mistake,” said one party strategist. “But at the end of the day, with the deep fundraising discrepancy and no path to narrowing it, this is a race that’s not in our top 40 or our top 60 or anything like that.”

Enter Sarah Palin:

"Renee Ellmers is a true citizen-politician running in North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District. Having worked in the health care industry all her life, she joined countless other concerned Americans at the town hall meetings last summer to protest the disastrous Obamacare legislation. And she didn’t stop there! Renee decided to join the ranks of patriotic mothers across the country who have the courage to run for office this year and fight to make sure our children have as bright a future as we were given. Renee has an uphill battle against a truly out of touch incumbent who made news not too long ago when he was caught on video assaulting a student who asked him if he supported the Obama agenda. Simple enough question, but this Democrat Congressman who’s been in Washington for 14 years turned violent rather than answer it. My point with this is that Renee is willing to answer that question. She supports a commonsense conservative agenda which will put our country back on sound fiscal footing. Please visit Renee’s website at www.reneeforcongress.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter."

Out of curiosity, I checked Ellmer's campaign website to see if any other political figures joined Palin in the effort to replace an incumbent thug with a conservative. Other than a few endorsements from various conservative groups, Palin is the only individual listed.

After the votes were tabulated on November 2nd, the race was too close to call. An automatic recount was set to take place. In her effort to raise funds for the legal costs associated with a recount, Ellmers placed a call to the NRCC. The disappointing response she got was spelled out in the following letter to supporters.

Dear Supporters,

Election night, after the ten counties in my district had reported their votes, I led Bob Etheridge by 2,100 votes. (That number is crucial because under North Carolina law Congressman Etheridge is not entitled to an ‘automatic recount’ if he trails by more than 1% – or 1,888 votes.)

Then, yesterday afternoon – unexpectedly – the vote totals changed. The State Board of Elections reported my lead had dropped to 1,600 votes. Two hours later Bob Etheridge announced he intended to call for a recount.

As a result, last night my campaign began hiring attorneys – eleven attorneys in all. One in each county to monitor each recount and an attorney to work with the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Right now, our best estimate of the minimum cost we face is $50,000. But, of course, my campaign spent every penny we had before the election.

Yesterday, we appealed to the National Republican Congressional Committee for support, asking if they could contribute to help pay the costs of this recount. Their answer, unfortunately, was, No – that we would have to raise the money to pay for the recount ourselves.

I was afraid that would be their answer. Months ago, I went to Washington and asked the National Republican Congressional Committee and many conservative leaders to help my campaign. Many conservative groups – like the Susan B. Anthony List, Concerned Women of America, Freedom Works, and Sarah Palin’s Sarah PAC all helped, but the NRCC declined. Later, they did support other campaigns in North Carolina – which, unfortunately, lost – but we never received their support. In fact, their spokesman told the press “that the campaign wasn’t ready for prime time” – which actually made it even harder for us to raise money. So, I am doubtful we will get support from the NRCC to help with the expense of the recount.

[...]

Palin followed up on her letter with a plea for assistance from her Twitter account.

SarahPAC help is on the way for @Renee4Congress recount fund. Will other PACs join us? How about Beltway GOP? http://is.gd/gIZKN

And, the rest is history. This great story is not likely to get much press. However, those who follow the political scene have noticed, and more importantly, Renee Ellmers has noticed. Thank you Sarah Palin!