I’ve argued before that it’s not worth burning time and money on races you can’t win. Addul Ali is the counterargument.
Ali is one of two Republican candidates in the 12th Congressional District that includes most of the city of Charlotte. I talked to his opponent, Jack Codiga, earlier this week.
If his name is familiar, that’s because Ali was the Republican candidate in 2024. He’s back again and tells me it’s because he doesn’t want to completely cede the ground.
Here are the toplines from the conversation:
In 2024, Ali got 91,000 votes in a district with about 45,000 Republicans. That shows that there are some persuadable unaffiliated voters out there, even in Charlotte.
He argues that when Republicans don’t field a candidate here, turnout drops — and Mecklenburg can’t afford that in big-cycle years.
Ali’s donor pitch is refreshingly modest. He tells them not to drain serious money from winnable races. Just commit a slice and use it to reach voters the party has been bleeding in Charlotte for a decade.
