The U.S. House voted Thursday to end public financing of campaigns with all Republicans but one united in their support.
The one: Congressman Walter Jones of Farmville. Jones is an ardent support of public financing and wants more of it, not less.
Republicans didn't need his vote, passing the bill 235-190. And it didn't matter anyway. The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate called it dead on arrival.
Interestingly, the bill would also cut off federal funding for party conventions, which would could affect Charlotte's production of the Democratic National Convention if approved. (The Charlotte convention organizers received about $17 million from the feds already this year.)
The rest of the North Carolina delegation broke along party lines for H.R. 3463. A similar bill (H.R. 359) passed the House in January in which Democratic Congressman Heath Shuler of Waynesville voted in favor of ending public financing. He voted against the similar measure Thursday.
Neither Jones' nor Shuler's office could be reached for comment.
