Oil sellers say 'the government is in our business' and this Democrat will defend them

The endorsement of previous leaders and financial support from members of an oil industry group has fueled a Democratic candidate in a three-way primary Tuesday to take on Republican Rep. Richard Hudson in a south-central North Carolina congressional race that has started to draw national attention.

Past presidents of The Petroleum Marketers Association of America endorsed Frank McNeill in North Carolina's 8th District, sending out a fundraising letter on his behalf to its members. The letter asked recipients to donate $250 to the campaign and was signed by seven past presidents of the organization, a federation of 47 state and regional trade associations representing about 8,000 independent retailers and wholesalers.

The current president of the PMAA said in an email that his group has not endorsed McNeill, though its political action committee gave to the candidate.

McNeill, a third-generation owner of McNeill Oil & Propane in Aberdeen, is a past president of the North Carolina group that represents petroleum marketers. He has raised more than $41,000 from marketers, also called "petroleum jobbers," those who purchase oil from refineries and sell it to gas stations or individuals for home heating.

The PMAA's PAC also gave $3,000 to McNeill, one of five North Carolina politicians it funded in the 2018 election cycle. The group also donated to Reps. Robert Pittenger, David Price and David Rouzer and Sen. Thom Tillis. McNeill has raised almost $250,000 through March 31, according to Federal Election Commission documents.

"Most of those people, just about everyone that made a contribution, are personal friends. The relationships have developed over the last 40 years of being in the business. We share common interests. Our wives are friends, our children. Even though many of them are Republicans, they're my friends and that means an awful lot," said the 62-year-old McNeill.

The letter, sent before the March 31 first-quarter fundraising deadline, suggested that McNeill would help fight regulation of the petroleum industry. Hours after this story was posted on May 3, the letter was removed from that link.

"As you know, the petroleum industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in our nation. The government is in our business every day, from the IRS and DOT to the EPA and OSHA, often with little regard to the impacts on our small businesses and the thousands of employees we employ every day. We know Frank will represent us in Congress, and I urge you to support him, too," the letter said.

McNeill said he and the group are not "big oil," as they are not involved in exploration or drilling nor do they deal with the refining process.

"We are simply the hometown retailers. We support any regulations that are going to protect our environment. All of us want clean air and clean water," McNeill said. "When you get to the retail end, sometimes the regulations put on don't do a lot of good to protect the environment. Yet they make it kind of tough for us as small retailers. I hope it won't be a problem (with voters). I'm just a small businessman. I'm not big oil. Hopefully they'll be able to make that differentiation."

The 8th District stretches from Concord in the west to Fayetteville in the east.

The solid fundraising — far more than his Democratic opponents have raised — has allowed McNeill to go on television in the Raleigh market, hoping to reach voters in Fayetteville. The ad touts McNeill's experience as a small-town mayor and businessman.

One of his Democratic opponents said the endorsement and letter raises concerns about who McNeill will be representing if he were to win. Scott Huffman, founder of Indivisible Charlotte, said the donations raise concerns "if he's really going to represent everyone in our district."

"The oil industry needs to go away because it's the No. 1 polluter of our planet," said Huffman, who has raised about $15,000.

Huffman said his internal poll shows a close race between himself and McNeill. He cited his strong social media following relative to the other candidates as evidence of his strength in the district.

Marc Tiegel, a 40-year-old former firefighter and teacher, is also running in the district. He has raised nearly $45,000.

"Big money is a big problem in politics. I trust that he will act in an ethical manner and not be beholden to folks," Tiegel said. "I have no interest in selling out and I would hope he's in the same boat."

Tiegel has called for the removal of a Confederate flag that is currently flying over the Uwharrie Volunteer Fire Department in Montgomery County.

Whoever wins the May 8 Democratic primary faces a steep challenge in unseating Hudson, who is seeking a fourth term. Hudson defeated incumbent Larry Kissell by nearly nine points in 2012 after Republicans redrew election districts and easily won re-election in 2014 and 2016 by about 20 percentage points. Hudson has raised almost $1.5 million for his 2018 campaign.

But one outlet that ranks House races moved the race from "safe Republican" to "likely Republican" last week, a move in the Democrats' direction. It is one of two North Carolina seats with that designation, according to the University of Virginia Center for Politics' Larry Sabato. The 2nd District, represented by Republican George Holding of Raleigh, is also in that category.

The Cook Political Report, which also ranks House races, has Hudson's seat in the "safe Republican" category.

Both analysts consider two North Carolina seats held by Republicans to be "lean Republican," which is another step in the Democrats' favor. In each, the Republican incumbent has been out-raised by a Democratic challenger — Pittenger in the south-central North Carolina 9th District and Rep. Ted Budd in the 13th District west of Greensboro.

The national political environment and the historic trend of the opposition party winning seats in midterms have Democrats optimistic about their chances of taking House seats. A Spectrum poll of 526 registered voters in the state found that 44 percent would support a Democratic candidate for Congress and 41 percent would support a Republican candidate. Twelve percent were undecided and 3 percent would support a candidate of another party.

This story was originally published May 3, 2018 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Oil sellers say 'the government is in our business' and this Democrat will defend them."