Rep. Diane Black pulls her grandsons to her side after declaring victory in the 6th Congressional District.
Incumbent Diane Black easily won her rematch against Lou Ann Zelenik in the 6th Congressional district’s GOP Primary. Two years ago, Black squeaked past Zelenik by fewer than 300 votes. This time, the margin of victory was more than two to one.
In many ways, the tone of this race felt like deja vu. Just like in 2010, both women were the subject of attack ads, some of which were paid for by outside groups. They traded jabs over who was more conservative, which one is a career politician, and who could be tougher on Islam and Sharia law. Black started a website about her challenger called Lou Ann Tax Increaser dot com. And when attorneys filed a criminal contempt motion against Zelenik in an unrelated court case, she accused Black of orchestrating the charges.
Diane Black talks to a supporter at her victory party as a television camera looks on.
At her victory party in Hendersonville, Black said she hopes a second, and much bigger win will mark an end to the cycle.
“Two years ago we went through this same kind of ugly campaign with desperate people doing unhinged things and I just hope we don’t have to go through that again.”
Representative Black brought in roughly 45-thousand votes, compared to about 20-thousand for Zelenik.
A confident Black strode into her party just minutes after polls closed.
The primary win secures Black’s seat for another two years, since there’s no Democratic challenger to face in November
Black says her second term will look an awful lot like her first. The economy is, in her words, “in shambles,” so Black says she’ll continue to focus on the Republican tack for making employers happy: trim regulations, cut taxes, and try to scuttle President Obama’s health care overhaul.
“We’ll continue to pick at this law until we fully repeal it. I mean, that’s obviously where we want to go and we’ll continue to do that.”
That’s where the November elections become important for Black. While she has finished locking down her own seat, Black acknowledges her goals can’t be met without more GOP faces in the Senate and White House.
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