“It’s really becomes an educational battle,” says 24-year-old GOP candidate Chad Mitchell of Faith. “When I’d rather be talking about other issues, instead I’m talking about where the district is and how it has changed.”

Most recently, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay on a federal ruling that declared a 1997 redistricting plan unconstitutional. A lawsuit, upheld by the federal court twice now, charged that the drawing of the 12th District in 1997 was racially gerrymandered to favor minority candidates.

The stay remains in effect until the state files another appeal, and a final Supreme Court ruling probably won’t come until after the November election.

The bottom line: Congressional elections will be held under the never-used 1997 plan. The mostly urban 12th district now extends from Charlotte to Greensboro and includes all or portions of 16 Rowan County precincts.

The rest of Rowan County now lies in the 6th District. Overall, more than 78,000 voters have been assigned to a new district.

Interestingly, the new lines leave only one of the three Republican candidates for the 12th District seat — Leonard Plyler of Statesville — as actually living in the district. Candidates had filed in January assuming that 1998 district boundaries would apply. That 12th District then included all of Rowan County.

“I don’t think any district should be drawn up politically,” says Plyler, a 68-year-old retired factory worker and farmer. “This political stuff is outrageous. I didn’t realize it was the ’97 district until a couple of weeks ago. It blew my mind.”

John Cosgrove, a Winston-Salem businessman and a first-time candidate for any office, says the fact remains the district is unconstitutional and was gerrymandered so that a “minority liberal can win regardless of his dismal performance as a congressman.”

Cosgrove clearly considers Democrat incumbent Mel Watt of Charlotte to fit that description. Watt has held the 12th District seat since it was first established in 1992. He seeks re-election and is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

While Cosgrove has said he is committing $80,000 to the congressional race, both Plyler and Mitchell acknowledge that their campaign spending is limited.

Plyler, who ran unsuccessfully for the 1998 U.S. Senate GOP nomination, says he presents himself as “a common, ordinary person.”

“I’ve gotten good results,” he says. “I haven’t been treated rude by no one. I just go from house to house. If I get several words in, I just emphasize America first. It takes in a lot of territory.”

Plyler complains of American “giveaway programs” to other countries with no strings attached. The country shouldn’t be giving money away while it has a $5 trillion debt, he said.

“I’m not saying nobody else gets help, but we come first,” Plyler said. “We have problems right here at home. I say take care of them first.”

Mitchell, a teacher of Bible history at East Rowan High School, describes himself as “a school teacher who happens to be running for office.” “I personally concentrate more on just talking to people,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he appreciates people’s physical help in passing out his literature and campaigning on his behalf, as much as any financial support. Always politically active, Mitchell has previously run for county commissioner and school board.

“The thing I try to get across is that for nearly a decade the (Republican) candidates against Mel Watt have been basically the same type of candidate,” Mitchell says. “I do not fit that mold at all.”

Cosgrove, 34-year-old owner of Gloria Jean’s Beans at Hanes Mall, started a serious run at the 12th District seat soon after Watt won the 1998 election. Previously, he lent his help to Republican campaigns in Forsyth County mostly as a “sign grunt,” he says.

Cosgrove started campaigning at places such as fairs, horse shows and other events because he needed the name recognition. When he talks with voters, honesty and integrity are foremost on their minds, Cosgrove says.

Military experience

A form er captain in the U.S. Army, Cosgrove focuses much of his message on defense. He says he would not send U.S. troops outside of the country unless they directly supported U.S. interests. He blames the Clinton administration and congressmen such as Watt for allowing the nation’s defenses to slip.

Active duty Army divisions have decreased from 18 in 1992, when he left the service, to only 10 today, Cosgrove says. And of those 10, three cannot be deployed because of understaffing, he adds.

Military equipment has become outdated, Cosgrove says, pointing to Marine helicopters that are 40 years old and pilots flying planes that are older than they are. Cosgrove strongly objects to gays in the military saying that the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy doesn’t work.

Morale is low in the military because morality is out, Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove says he would favor term limits — four terms for a U.S. House member. He pushes for the elimination of the Department of Education with more money going to local schools and more emphasis on the core subjects of math, English and science.

Teachers also need higher pay, Cosgrove says. He contends that all the educational improvements could be made without raising taxes by eliminating the bureaucracy in Washington.

Cosgrove says the country’s tax system needs to be simplified so any person 8 to 80 can understand it. Whether through a flat tax or national sales tax, “it needs to be more simple and fair,” Cosgrove says.

Un-classic Republican

Mitchell, chairman of the Rowan County Young Republicans, says his age and ideas set him apart from the other GOP candidates. A congressman must be 25 to hold office, and Mitchell will barely make that deadline come November.

Unlike some Republicans, Mitchell says, he understands that government has some great and necessary functions. He does not favor abolishing the Department of Education and welfare programs, for example.

Also, he doesn’t automatically recommend that a budget surplus be used for tax breaks. Yes, the government should lower taxes, Mitchell says as an example, but it has to make sure Social Security is sound first.

“I’m not necessarily the classic Republican,” he says. “I pay much more attention to details than others, and I think the voters recognize that.”

Mitchell places an emphasis on education and says he is heartened that Republicans are realizing that the federal government can have a role, not so much in local policy but as a clearinghouse for information.

It can identify both public and private school innovations that work and make them available to other schools, Mitchell says. He supports vouchers and education savings accounts to help parents send their children to private schools or colleges.

Mitchells says the time has come to shore up Social Security and provide major investment reforms that will allow citizens to earn a larger return for what they pay into the system.

“The rich are already doing this,” Mitchell says. “This would allow the working man to fund his own retirement. Allow people to help themselves.”

Mitchell favors prescription drug coverage for citizens on Medicare and Medicaid. He opposes term limits, saying he believes “term limits are at the ballot box.”

Mitchell speaks for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and replacing it with a national sales tax. Mitchell says he doesn’t really care for taxation, but there are good things that government does that need to be funded.

“A national sales tax would allow the best way to fund those things,” he says.

If the support for a national sales tax were not present, Mitchell says, he would then favor a flat tax.

“In any event, our system needs to be changed,” he says.

Restructure taxes

Plyler opposes both a flat tax and a national sales tax. He contends that either replacement method would benefit the wealthy over the poor. He says the present tax system was supposed to be fair but became so diluted through the years “to become a terrible thing.”

It needs to be restructured to its original concept, Plyler says.

Plyler has strongly urged term limits: two terms for U.S. House members and one term for U.S. senators, for example. On campaign finance reform, Plyler says he’s waiting.

“I favor one (a proposal) that works, and I haven’t heard one yet that works,” Plyler says. “Iwould want an airtight plan, if I were going to vote for it.”

Plyler also speaks for shoring up Social Security and providing prescription drugs for people who can’t afford them. He labels himself as “a great opponent of gun control.”

“The only thing we need to do is get violators of existing laws and be harsh with them,” Plyler says.

Overall, Plyler says he mainly wants to “look after these people who aren’t looked after” — working people.