Pro-life groups celebrate Renee Ellmers' defeat

Amid a tumultuous presidential election cycle, one election trend remained glaringly constant entering Tuesday’s primaries: No Republican incumbent in the U.S. House or Senate had lost to a primary challenger.

That changed Tuesday when Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., lost to Rep. George Holding, R-N.C., in a contest between two lawmakers whose districts were redrawn.

The Associated Press called the race after Holding held a commanding lead with two-thirds of the votes counted. Ellmers and a third candidate, Greg Brannon, each had less than 25 percent of the vote.

Businessman Donald Trump has leveraged anti-establishment furor to become the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, but so far that sentiment has not carried over to down-ballot races. Ironically, Ellmers offered Trump’s first and only congressional endorsement to date.

But her convincing defeat was not a complete surprise. After winning a 2010 election on tea party appeal, she clashed with both fiscal and social conservatives on numerous issues, often siding with unpopular leadership decisions during her short stint in Congress.

Perhaps most notably, last year Ellmers helped lead an effort to derail the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act—a federal 20-week abortion ban—prompting pro-life groups to vow revenge.

They delivered on their promise in the months leading up to Ellmers’ loss. The pro-life group Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List endorsed Holding and knocked on more than 12,500 doors in support of the two-term incumbent as part of a “Dump Ellmers” campaign.

“Her betrayal of the pro-life movement in January 2015 continues to haunt her,” said SBA List spokeswoman Mallory Quigley. “We did not forget, and voters did not forget.”

Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth, two fiscally focused groups, spent more than $1 million to defeat Ellmers, according to Politico.

“American families are looking for leaders who will address the pressing issues we face as a nation, and who will not just make campaign promises but also follow through on them once elected to office,” said Tony Perkins, president of FRC Action, another group that worked against Ellmers. “We look forward to continuing our work with Rep. Holding in advancing constitutional limited government, individual liberties, and strong family values.”

Elsewhere in North Carolina, Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger narrowly avoided becoming a second incumbent to fall on Tuesday, winning a three-way race by only 142 votes. Pittenger’s closest primary challenger, the Rev. Mark Harris, has not conceded and plans to request a recount, according to the Charlotte News and Observer.

In North Carolina's newly created 13th district, gun store owner Ted Budd won a 17-way primary contest in his first run for political office. Budd garnered only 6,308 votes, but his 20-percent showing bested four state legislators and nearly doubled the second-place finisher.

In Ohio, Republican Warren Davidson, a West Point graduate, cruised to victory in a special election to succeed former House Speaker John Boehner, who retired last year after 25 years in Congress.