We’ve blogged about the Democratic Primary in District 19 multiple times on this site.  It’s an intriguing race featuring two candidates that couldn’t be more different, but it’s turned exceptionally ugly in recent weeks.  Most of the battle is being fought in the mailboxes of likely Democratic voters with glossy attack ads.   Today, a new wrinkle emerged that took me and many observers with their political ears to the ground by surprise.

In a recent interview with the Fayetteville Observer, Ed Donaldson claimed that his entire campaign is “self-funded.”  The campaign finance reports back this up, as Donaldson appears to have loaned his own campaign over twenty grand.  More importantly, he hasn’t reported a single donation.

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Last month, we predicted a quiet Democratic Primary in NC Senate 19 unless one of the candidates threw a punch.  Well an uppercut has been thrown, and like everything in politics at this moment, it’s tied to President Trump.  Ed Donaldson, who has thus far run a minimal campaign, went after Kirk deViere’s past in the following mailer to Democratic voters:

Donaldson’s attack is effective for multiple reasons:

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I like making predictions.  Part of my job as an attorney is to take all the facts, apply them to my knowledge of the law and the court system, and make a prediction into the future.  This means whittling down uncertainty and eliminating risk.  I often make predictions outside of the office, and my wife would probably tell you that I take myself too seriously, but I feel a sense of reward when my foresight is true.  Who doesn’t like being right?

Some people will tell you that your guess is only as good as your information.  Others like our president will tell you that some people have an ability, a certain instinct or intuition that enables them to make a good prediction.

I hope the following includes both good information and instinct:

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