2006 Congressional Race
In early 2006, Robinson announced he would again seek to become a member of the Congressional delegation from North Carolina. He sought to run against Congressman Mel Watt in the heavily Democratic 12th Congressional District. Although he does not live in the 12th, his children go to school in the 12th's portion of Winston-Salem.
On February 28, the last day to file for office in North Carolina, Robinson withdrew as a candidate in the 12 District and filed to run in the more competitive 13th District, against incumbent Congressman Brad Miller. The 13th doesn't include any part of Winston-Salem; while members of the House are not required to live in the district they represent, it has become a strong convention that they do so. Robinson defended his candidacy in this district by saying he had several donors from the 13th in 2004 and that he was motivated by a desire to defeat Miller. Winning 63% of the vote, Robinson won a May 2 primary against two relatively unknown candidates.
Robinson's campaign featured:
- immigration issues, including a radio ad that features mariachi music
- his opponent's personal life
- challenges to Miller's priorities, accusing him of "deny our soldiers the body armor they need" and "instead of spending money on sickle-cell research", voting to spend "money to study the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes in San Francisco"; FactCheck "found the ad misleading on several counts."
- a soundbite from Bill Cosby in an ad called a "lesson in tough love" that ends with the assertion that "the biggest problem facing blacks today isn't slavery or racism, it's the destruction of the family; the answer isn't racial quotas or a government handout, it's personal responsibility"
In August 2011, Vernon Robinson launched a new official campaign website, announcing his candidacy for the 8th Congressional district in North Carolina. He summarized his positions on the issues on his new site and stated, "I believe there is no more pressing issue regarding national survival than the issue of our exploding national debt. We cannot allow the Obama Administration and Washington insiders to spend money that we do not have with an IOU drawn off the backs of our grandchildren. This is fiscal child abuse and changes our country's motto from "Home of the Brave" to "No Child Left a Dime."
Read more about this topic: Vernon Robinson
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