“In Congress, Bishop has proven himself to be everything he promised he wasn’t: a politician who cares more about serving corporate special interests than the constituents he was elected to represent. In direct contrast to Bishop’s insider ties, Cynthia Wallace has deep connections to the district and a focus on issues that will matter most for voters like protecting North Carolinian’s health care from GOP attacks and lowering prescription drug costs.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Sarah Guggenheimer, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: March 3, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Dan Bishop
During his short time in Congress, Dan Bishop has already proven himself a reliable yes man for the Washington establishment. But this truly comes as no surprise given Bishop’s long record of betraying his constituents as he chooses to cast votes at their expense, to the benefit of corporate special interests and corporate special interests alone.
As voters head to the polls in November, they’ll have a clear choice: continuing Bishop’s corrupt status quo or the honest, responsive, and independent voice of Cynthia Wallace.
The granddaughter of farmers, Wallace grew up in Springfield, Georgia, a small town with no street addresses. She is the daughter of Mary T. Wallace and the late Homer Lee Wallace, the first African American county commissioner elected in the history of Effingham County in Georgia and co-founder of his local NAACP. Cynthia’s focus on activism and her community is truly in her genes, which is what led her to chair the 9th Congressional District Democratic committee where she’s had the unique privilege to travel her district and connect with voters for years.
Like so many districts in North Carolina, the 9th Congressional District has undergone repeated changes over the years as Republicans’ gerrymandered maps were struck down in the courts. That means Bishop will have to defend his entire career as a politician to new voters in a suburban district that is trending blue. And that career has undermined his state’s economy and reputation to serve his political party above all else.
The contrast between Bishop and Cynthia Wallace could not be more clear: more of the same destructive politics with Bishop, or an independent voice who will work to change Washington and deliver results for her community.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Editorial Board: “Wallace is well known and respected in area Democratic Party circles. She’s been the party’s 9th District chair for three years and was on the executive committee before that. Those positions took her regularly to the district’s diverse counties, providing her with a deep knowledge of voters in the 9th. Wallace also brings a rural farming and factory background that, along with her 25-year career in finance, allows her to connect with voters from urban Mecklenburg to more rural counties in the eastern part of the district.” [Charlotte Observer, 2/19/20]
New York Times: “For Democrats looking ahead to 2020, those midterm results and Mr. Bishop’s slim margin in a conservative seat offer more evidence that Mr. Trump could face trouble in states such as North Carolina, which is Republican-leaning but filled with the sort of college-educated voters who have grown uneasy with the president.” [New York Times, 9/10/19]
Dan Bishop: Career Political Extremist
BISHOP THINKS YOUR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE TOO AFFORDABLE
Health care continues to be the number one concern for voters, but it’s the last thing Senator Bishop wants to talk about with North Carolinians. After refusing to tell voters how he’ll work to bring down health care costs in 2019, constituents now know why: he has no intention to.
When given the chance to vote to lower prescription drug costs by an average of $1,920 per North Carolina family, Bishop sided with the GOP establishment and voted against this cost-saving legislation.
This vote adds to his record in the North Carolina Senate where he also opposed expanding insurance coverage to hundreds of thousands of working North Carolinians, was 1 of only 10 lawmakers to support charging some cancer patients more than others, and was the only politician, from either party, to vote with pharmaceutical companies and against consumers on a bill to help bring down the cost of prescription drugs in North Carolina.
BISHOP’S “HISTORIC” ACHIEVEMENT: COSTING NORTH CAROLINA $3.76 BILLION
Throughout his political career as a State Senator, Bishop has consistently shown that there is no cost for North Carolina that that should get in the way of his own extremist agenda. Unfortunately for working North Carolinians, they were the ones covering the bill after Senator Bishop’s crowning achievement, HB2, cost North Carolina’s economy more than $3.76 billion. And while Bishop described his bill as “historic,” a “historic job killer” would be more accurate. According to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, approximately 2,000 new jobs headed for Charlotte did not come to the area because of their concerns with Senator Bishop’s job killing HB2.
Fortunately for voters in North Carolina’s 9th District, they have a better option than a career politician who has spent his time singlehandedly killing jobs and opportunity. Unlike Bishop, Cynthia Wallace has spent time focused on her community and the district.
PATH TO VICTORY
North Carolina’s 9th District has seen its share of controversary the past two years. Considering Republicans ran the biggest election fraud in modern North Carolina history in 2018 and the 2019 special election where Dan McCready ran ahead of Trump by 10 points, North Carolinians have seen Republicans like Bishop campaign for nearly two years straight.
But in past months, voters have finally had a chance to see Bishop govern in Congress and so far, they’ve seen someone singularly focused on siding with corporate special interests over his constituents.
With new district lines that make this district more Democratic, Bishop will have to introduce himself to new 9th District voters and will have a tough time defending his record in Congress against Wallace, who understands the district in a way few others can.