Former NC legislator, treasurer candidate announces bid for Mecklenburg Democrats chair
Former state representative and Council of State candidate Wesley Harris announced a run for chair of the county party Thursday with a message to supporters and revamped campaign website.
Harris's announcement comes after a period of tumult within the party. Current chair Drew Kromer faced criticism and calls for resignation in the wake of the 2024 general election over a staffer's departure and allegations the party neglected African American voters.
An economist and tax consultant by trade, Harris served three terms in the North Carolina House from 2019 to 2024. He ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2024, losing to Republican Brad Briner by a margin of 47.5% to 52.5%.
In an email to supporters announcing his candidacy for the Meck Dems chairmanship, Harris said his statewide race gave him 'a front-row seat to the dysfunction that has led our core voters to lose trust in our ability to lead.'
'There was a lot of disappointment on November 5th, but the thing that stung the most to me, the one that was the most personal, was seeing Mecklenburg County drop the ball yet again,' he wrote.
The sheer number of Democrats in the county means the party views Mecklenburg as a wealth of untapped potential for its fortunes statewide. Despite record-setting fundraising and an optimistic message about efforts to get voters to the polls in 2024, voter turnout in heavily Democratic Mecklenburg once again trailed the rest of North Carolina as Democrats failed to flip the battleground state for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Days after the general election, executive director Monifa Drayton resigned from the party with a letter that compared her experience to that of 'professional Black women during the Jim Crow era.'
Multiple Black precincts chairs, including the first vice president of the county party's African American Caucus, told The Charlotte Observer after Drayton's resignation party leadership, including Kromer, failed to heed warnings about lackluster grassroots organizing in communities with large numbers of Black voters.
The caucus later released a statement calling on Kromer to resign. County Commissioner Arthur Griffin also sent an email to Kromer in the wake of Drayton's resignation calling for him to leave his post, WFAE reported.
Kromer previously pushed back on those claims and calls for resignation, saying the party is focused on advancing new strategies for organizing and outreach and made investments in the African American community during the 2024 election cycle.
'Anybody is welcome to run against me for whatever they like,' he told the Observer previously.
Kromer did not immediately respond to an Observer question about his future plans with the party in the wake of Harris's announcement.
In his announcement, Harris, who previously represented parts of southern Mecklenburg, touted himself as a strong fundraiser 'who understands the dynamics of this state' and 'is committed to building back our brand in the low turnout sections of Meck.'
'My experience in the legislature, running a statewide campaign, and winning competitive legislative races gives me the relationships and leadership we need to move forward,' he wrote to supporters.
Harris' message said the county party 'ignored our base in favor of flashy races that already have support.' He didn't specify specific races, but the county party focused much of its attention in 2024 on the presidential race and Democrat Nicole Sidman's failed bid to oust controversial state Rep. Tricia Cotham.
Harris said new leadership needs 'to crack the code of Mecklenburg turnout woes for the Democratic Party.'
'In some ways, we have everything going for us in Mecklenburg County, but we need leaders who will get our house in order,' he wrote.
Party members will elect a new chair in the spring.
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