NC-02: Cook Political moves George Holding from 'Likely Republican' to 'Lean Republican'
NC-02: George Holding (R) - Raleigh suburbs, Harnett County
Lean Republican. Holding rose to prominence in GOP circles as the Bush-appointed federal prosecutor who waged the case against John Edwards, and he's benefited from favorably-drawn GOP maps. But in the past week, he's been telling donors that his latest poll shows him trailing Democratic former state Rep. Linda Coleman by three points, despite President Trump carrying the seat 54 percent to 42 percent in 2016.
It could be that Holding is bluffing to pad his coffers: he led Coleman by just $253,000 to $157,000 at the end of June. But it's also plausible that Democrats enjoy an enthusiasm advantage in this district, which combines heavily Republican rural counties with professional Wake County suburbs of Raleigh and the Research Triangle. DC Democrats had initially written off this seat when their favored candidate, self-funding tech executive, lost the May primary to Coleman.
Holding, whose family owns the parent company of First Citizens Bank, has taken every major GOP vote and has never had a competitive general election before. But in 2016, he benefited from a Super PAC set up by wealthy backers to keep his seat in 2016 when fellow GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers was drawn into the same district. Without a competitive statewide contest to motivate GOP voters, he may need their help again.
https://www.cookpolitical.com/kentucky-ohio
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