“The Candidate Best Suited for the Job”

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Jim Neal picked up two endorsements Tuesday, including the first media endorsement of the primary, and they came right in the backyard of his primary rival, State Senator Kay Hagan.

Greensboro’s Yes! Weekly and the Guilford County Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America announced they are backing Jim Neal for the U.S. Senate nomination in the May 6 Democratic primary.

Triad publication YES! Weekly noted Neal’s forthrightness and progressive credentials. “Are North Carolinians ready to elect Neal? The answer at YES! Weekly is yes. Neal is the more progressive of the two candidates, particularly in his opposition to granting immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program. He has been unequivocal about this.”

Yes! praised the Neal campaign’s openness and energetic outreach. “Jim Neal of Chapel Hill has been barnstorming the state … cultivating his netroots alongside his grassroots, blogging regularly as he crosses the state in his Escape Hybrid… We want a senator we can communicate with, and so far Hagan has not shown that she’s ready to do that.”

The Guilford County Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America announced their endorsement of Jim Neal on Tuesday evening. “We’re proud to endorse Jim Neal. We feel he is the most progressive candidate in the primary, and the best suited for the job to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, and beat Elizabeth Dole this November,” said Lee Baker, Chair, Guilford Chapter, Progressive Democrats of America.

Jim Neal said, “As someone who was born and raised in Greensboro, I am honored that activists and journalists from my hometown support our grassroots campaign for the United States Senate. Our campaign recognizes that the real agents of change this year are the citizens who work tirelessly for our future, and it is together as a campaign that we have won these endorsements. Our message is getting through. The people of North Carolina want a government that works for all the people, not career politicians and politically connected insiders. Remember, regular citizens have more votes than all the elite special interest money and slick TV ads put together.”

Jim Neal also picked up an important endorsement in Wautauga County from Pam Williamson of Pamspicks.net. “Jim Neal visited Boone and was smart and appealing,” she wrote. “He claims he will win based on grassroots support in spite of Hagan’s money and insider endorsements.”

These endorsements add to the growing momentum of Neal’s grassroots movement.

- On Saturday April 12th, Neal won the 10th Congressional District Straw Poll - a conservative area - with 54% of the vote. The 10th District Chairman Tony McEwen said: “Strength for a Democratic candidate in this type of more rural setting is certainly a great indicator of which candidates will fare best in the general election. For a Democrat to be successful statewide in North Carolina, they not only will have to get support from urban areas but also be able to pick up more conservative voters in rural counties, like you will find in the 10th district.”
- The Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg endorsed Jim Neal as “the ideal candidate to defeat Elizabeth Dole.” Dwayne Collins, Chairman of the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg says, “The membership of the Black Political Caucus is proud to support Mr. Neal with our endorsement in the U.S. Senate race. We thought Jim is the ideal candidate to defeat Elizabeth Dole, and that is why we are behind his candidacy. He was the best candidate on the issues that affect all citizens, but especially members of the African American community. We look forward to working with Jim Neal to improve the lives of the human family of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.”

- Blue America PAC, a progressive online community of blogs including Crooks & Liars, Firedoglake, Digby’s Hullabaloo, and Down with Tyranny has endorsed Neal. Howie Klein, co-founder of the Blue America PAC, says, “What motivated Jim to run — his campaign’s principal underlying theme — is his feeling that Congress has not been responsive to the people who own and pay for and fund our democracy,” Klein said. “Jim Neal in the Senate would go a long way towards righting the wrongs that have been inflicted on our country in recent years by corporatist rule.”

- Americablog, an influential national political blog, endorses Jim Neal. “Jim is a proud Democrat running for Senate. And, clearly, he is right on the issues. He’ll run circles around Liddy Dole,” Americablogs Joe Sudbay says “Jim is not the “establishment” candidate for the primary. However, the polls we’ve seen show a close primary race at this point.”

- eQuality Giiving endorsed Jim Neal. eQuality is the nation’s largest online donor community, supporting candidates and causes to achieve LGBT equality.

The winner in the May 6th primary will face off against Republican incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole.