Young Republicans hosts Buncombe candidates, game-show style *Updated with VIDEO*

On March 1 at Magnolia’s Raw Bar & Grille in downtown Asheville, the local Young Republican’s club hosted a “grand old party” to honor their first “Buncombe County Ringer.” The event, presented by Matthew Hoagland, founder and chairman of Asheville’s Young Republican’s club, was a game-show style, three-question quiz about Asheville’s beer, history, and politics. The contestants were ten of this year’s Republican candidates for Buncombe County Board of Commissioners in each of Asheville’s three districts, as well as Glenda Weinert and J.B. Howard, who are running for chair.

Questions and answers were immediately followed by those short sound bites characteristic of popular game shows, like the dreaded buzzer or “wha-whaah” sound of a wrong answer and exciting “ding-ding-ding!” sound of approval, which added to the humorous and playful nature of the event. Additionally, prizes were handed out in the end to every candidate, winner or loser. The top contestants to answer two or more questions correctly — Republican candidate for the county’s register of deeds, Pat Cothran, and Mike Fryar — received pocket-sized copies of the North Carolina State Constitution.

On the losing end of the spectrum, prizes for those who answered one or no questions correctly included “Almost Vegetarian: A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time,” which was awarded to Glenda Reinert, and a copy of Michael Moore’s “Dude, Where’s My Country?” awarded to Christina Kelley Merrill. For which, a general response of laughter and applause was received by the candidates and audience, wrapping up a successful first event of its kind for the Young Republicans.
 
For the 30 or so people in attendance, the majority of the evening was spent socializing among political candidates and citizens alike, discussing local and national news or recent happenings. Although the younger crowd was not as present as the older, a healthy mix of the two allowed room for good conversation on how Buncombe county Republicans can best serve the Asheville community. 21-year-old Joshua Cates, member of the Young Republican’s club, said he also attended the occasional Young Democrats club meetings, stating that he is mostly well received by the overwhelming population of Democratic youth in the city. “But,” he added, “I did get stood up for a date once because I said I was a Republican.”

Hoagland founded the Young Republicans club just last August as a way to represent the conservative vote for adults between the ages of 18 and 40. The Buncombe County Republican Party, though smaller than the Democratic Party in Buncombe, includes a small group of teenagers, but Hoagland mentions that not since 2003 has there been an organized group of Republicans among young adults. His motivation in bringing the young Republican voice to Asheville is done both enthusiastically and professionally.

The Young Republican’s club will host another Ringer next month for Buncombe County candidates running for election at the state level.

For more information about the local Young Republicans, click here.

UPDATE: Watch video of the first “Buncombe County Ringer”:

Video via “BuncombeCountyVideo’s” YouTube Channel.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

6 thoughts on “Young Republicans hosts Buncombe candidates, game-show style *Updated with VIDEO*

  1. Dionysis

    “Although the younger crowd was not as present as the older…”

    Hmmm, that doesn’t seem like an auspicious beginning for an incipient ‘Young Republicans Club’. Maybe the past couple of years of Buncombe County Republican antics have turned the little GOPers off.

  2. Lamont Cranston

    “Game-show style”???

    Well, that’s right up there with the entire clown car reality show theme they have been conducting the past months with their primaries.

    Why change course in the middle of the Republican Party political entertainment programming?

  3. sharpleycladd

    The median age for today’s Atlas Shrugged, no birth control, homophobic and racist Republican Party is Legally Dead.

  4. Matthew Hoagland

    Whoa, take it easy guys. Why so serious?

    For the record, the Buncombe County Young Republicans respect the dietary choices of every individual. In fact, I try to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day.

    What a fun event though. If you’d like to see the video, here goes… http://bit.ly/z7RFgl

    @BuncombeYRs

    • Dionysis

      “Whoa, take it easy guys. Why so serious?”

      I may be wrong, but it seems all of the posts are far from serious; in fact, the topic seems to be generating more mirth than anything.

      Be careful about eating too many vegetarian dishes; I heard it can cause communism.

  5. wncguy

    While its a little silly…its also kinda sad that most of these people don’t know much about the area they want to represent.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.