Dear Friends and Voters:

It seems hard to believe, but my campaign journey is almost at an end. As a result, I thought that I would take this opportunity to recapitulate some of what we have gone through these past two years. In conducting this review, bear in mind something that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said something long ago. Dr. King said that he dreamed of an America where people would be judged, not on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character. Judge me, as you are preparing to go to the polls, on my character.

Since I began running for office two years ago, I was diagnosed with having a life-threatening non-cancerous brain tumor. I not only underwent surgery to remove the tumor, but a second surgery to implant a gold weight in my right eye because of the paralysis that resulted from the first surgery. The tumor recurred and I then had to go for radiation. The treatments hopefully zapped the tumor and halted its growth. Very few candidates could have continued with their campaign while going through treatment. But I did. Think about what that says about the kind of character and courage I have.

Early on, I appeared on a radio show and a caller asked me why I was running for office in such a broken system. I though a great deal about this question. Why indeed would anyone want to do this and endure the level of abuse that I have had to endure? Think about the rage, venom and vitriol that I have put up with and what it says about the kind of character that I have.

The short answer to the caller's question is that I do not want to be part of a broken and corrupt system. I want to return to the kind of system that was envisioned by our founding fathers in the sense that I believe that all humans were created as equal. I believe in our Constitution and that it accords rights to all, not just the wealthy, powerful or privileged. I believe in the kind of system where people are not motivated by a lust for power and control and greed, but by a love for one's fellow man and a desire to do what is best and right, not what is politically expedient.

I have talked about many of the problems with our current judicial system, whether it involves a lack of adequate funding for our court, the lack of a speedy trial mechanism, the lack of means of getting a trial transcript for appeal or otherwise, the need to clarify our appellate rules or the need to modernize our laws.

The chairman of the NC GOP-Mafia, Ferrell Blount, and I don't agree very often, but he is right about this. Our state and our country IS at a crossroads. We can go on as we have done. Nothing will change and we can continue on our present course of destruction. Or we can try a different direction. I represent a new course for our society, to make our courts places of justice, not halls of injustice. People can judge for themselves what that says about my character.

Something I have tried to do in this campaign is expose what is really occurring in our political system. In doing so, I have rocked the very political foundations of this state. That is why I have drawn so many attacks and derogatory coverage, whether it is from the NC GOP-Mafia, the mainstream media or the legal/political Establishment. That is why people like state Republican state house representative Paul Stam are threatening to take away your right to vote for judges if I prevail. That is how desperate these people are to hang onto power and control over you and to squelch me as an example to you, so that there will be no more uprisings by people like me.

I also have exposed my opponent for what he is - a fraud and phony. That assessment may seem harsh, but it is nonetheless correct. From his résumé, he appears to be judicial and full of integrity. However, look beyond the naked résumé and peel back the public façade to reveal the real person beneath. He is someone who does not tell the truth and reprints the falsehoods and misrepresentations for political power. He has unexplained transfers of wealth to friends/family that are highly questionable, yet the mainstream media is curiously silent about this real story. They are too concerned about one man exercising his right to vote or other mindless distractions.

My opponent is an elitist that rents fancy cars for himself and has made all the right "connections" that have led him to his present position. He has no idea how ordinary people live or the struggles that they have to face just to survive. He does not care about the rights of convicted individuals, or fathers, or taxpayers or property owners. Judge him, not on how nice his résumé appears, but by what he does and says. Judge him on the content of his character.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who believed in me and worked so hard in this endeavor. Your efforts have been very much appreciated. This campaign also brought me into contact with thousands of people, both in this state, in different areas of the country and throughout the world. Many of them gave me support and I thank them. I experienced so much negativity in this campaign, from the filing of frivolous bar complaints against me, to other frivolous complaints by operatives of the NC-GOP Mafia and the legal Establishment. The complaints were dismissed, but there were many trying times during which I questioned the wisdom of continuing with this campaign. I realized that my detractors would spew much hatred and attacks at me. I would be mocked and vilified in thanks for my efforts. I want you to know that your words of encouragement buoyed my spirits when I needed it most. And most of all, I want to give my thanks to God.

Regardless of one's religious beliefs, know that nothing in this world happens by accident. Whether it was my decision to choose law over medicine, the jobs I have held, meeting Connie or assisting a partner in his own campaign for office, all of these events combined to bring me here now. I was meant to run at this time and everything that went before was in preparation for this moment.

I know not what purpose is served by my running for office and I came to this decision very reluctantly. I did not want this burden to be placed on me. But I, imperfect vessel that I am, have obeyed the command and will perform whatever task is before me with all of the skill, knowledge and talents that I possess. I am confident that as God has led me to run for a reason, I will be victorious. I will have done the impossible.

Now you know what to do on Election Day.

God Speed

Rachel Lea Hunter