Tom Muddleford consolidates NAT support after winning party's nomination for NC governor

PARKINS, N. Ceona -- Despite a crowded primary race with eight candidates, North Ceona Senate Minority Leader Tom Muddleford has quickly coalesced the support of his party and former challengers.

In the race for governor, Muddleford won the NAT's nomination, defeating seven well-known and well-funded opponents.

In a contest with a large field of candidates, Muddleford only won with 17% of the vote -- hardly a mandate. 

However, under North Ceona law, there is no minimum threshold a candidate must attain in a primary election. Whichever candidate wins a plurality, no matter how small, wins the primary election and their party's nomination. 

Put simply, the candidate that wins the most votes, no matter how small the percentage of the total votes, advances to the general election in the fall.

At his election-night speech at a wine bar in the upscale suburb of Lea Hills, southeast of Parkins, Muddleford pledged to bring the state NAT party together.

"This is not just the Tom Muddleford campaign. This is the campaign for all Nationalists and all working-class people who believe in good government, who believe in the value of government; to help lift people out of poverty; to protect women's rights over their own bodies; to empower families of all kinds, not just the ones that look traditional. This campaign is for people who support all of those ideas and values," Muddleford said.

The day after North Ceona's primary election, Muddleford moved quickly to select his running mate. He asked Susie Forszak, CEO of Forward Industries, a major aeronautics company head-quartered in the northeast suburbs of Parkins, to join his ticket as his candidate for lieutenant governor.

Within just two days after the primary, Muddleford had already secured endorsements from all of his previous NAT challengers.

"Tom Muddleford is the right man to beat Ty Jaimeson and the radical Conservative agenda in Parkins," said Lexerna businessman John Thurgood, who finished second in the primary.

Lawyer Blair Elliott, also of Lexerna, likewise heaped praise on Muddleford.

"I am happy and proud to endorse Tom Muddleford for governor. He is an experienced and well-qualified candidate who has dedicated years of public service to helping the people of North Ceona," said Elliott.

State Sen. Katie Pollock, of south Parkins, who was reportedly also under consideration to be Muddleford's lieutenant governor, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she would "happily" work to get Muddleford elected.

"North Ceona needs Tom Muddleford. He fights for low-income North Ceonans, he fights for women, he fights for minorities, he fights for LGBTQ+ folks...he is the leader North Ceona needs right now," said Pollock.

Fellow challengers Sajid Roushan, Lisa Campion and Tom Denton issued similar statements congratulating Muddleford and vowing to assist his campaign.

Despite the diverse coalition Muddleford quickly assembled, his race against Jaimeson will still be an uphill battle.

The young governor, who is seeking a second term, remains popular. 

Jaimeson has good relations with state legislators and local officials across the state, he has largely avoided controversial social issues, and hasn't made any serious gaffes, unlike his Conservative counterpart Mark Ellsworth in neighboring East Deschire.

Jaimeson also has a large bank account. As of the last campaign finance report, he had raised $8.1 million, with $6.6 million in cash-on-hand.

Muddleford has raised $4.3 million so far, with about $900,000 in cash-on-hand.

Supporters of Muddleford say that, while the Senate Minority Leader is behind in the money race, now that he has won the party's nomination, the donations will pour in.

"Tom Muddleford is winning support from Nationalists all over North Ceona and beyond," Pat Riley, chair of the North Ceona Nationalist Party, told the STAR Network. "I look for the money gap to narrow significantly over the next month."

Still, Jaimeson remains the favorite. While the governor only narrowly won his last contest in 2020, he enjoys high approval ratings, he avoided a nasty primary fight with his own party, and the conservative tilt of North Ceona electoral politics is in his favor.

The last Jaimeson-Muddleford poll, conducted before Muddleford secured the NAT nomination, had Jaimeson leading with 53% to Muddleford's 46%, respectively.

"This race is by no means a sure thing, but at this point, Ty Jaimeson remains in the lead and continues to have the advantage," political scientist Rod Snyder told the STAR Network, noting that a lot could change in the next three months.

If Muddleford does pull off an upset against Jaimeson, Muddleford will become the state's first NAT governor.

***North Ceona Primary Election for Governor -- NAT -- Unofficial Results***

149,452	119,869	132,491	102,463	84,270	65,203	95,406	87,952
17.85%	14.32%	15.83%	12.24%	10.07%	7.79%	11.40%	10.51%
Muddleford	Forszak	Thurgood	Pollock	Campion	Denton	Elliott	Roushan