We’re adding a new feature to the RunSmart2Win blog: Five Questions With _______. We will talk to North Carolina’s news makers, political insiders and experts, asking them five questions — and five questions only — on politics and campaigning in the Old North State. I’m excited to bring you the first edition today: Five Questions with Peter Hans:

1. What do you like about politics? And what do you not like about politics? I like the excitement, the people, and the chance to accomplish something important. I dislike the pressures of raising money, the personal nature of many attacks, and losing.
2. What advice do you have for “the mob” (as the Democrats call them) of activists, concerned citizens, and political newcomers wanting to get involved, make a difference, or even run for office? People in our country and around the world have given their lives for freedom. But too often, we forget that democracy requires participation. So I love to see citizens, of every political persuasion, fulfill their civic responsibilities.
3. You’ve been in the trenches of some North Carolina’s biggest political battles in recent years, advising senators Lauch Faircloth, Elizabeth Dole, Richard Burr, and others. What have traditionally been “winning issues” for Republicans in North Carolina? Are these issues changing at all as the state grows, changes demographically, and becomes more urban/suburban? Traditionally our winning issues on the federal level have centered around family values, limited government, and national security. Our state is more moderate, philosophically, in years past so the tone of our political communications should reflect that reality while still staying true to our principles.
4. What will separate winning campaigns and candidates from losing ones, specifically in North Carolina, in upcoming elections? The same things that have always separated winning and losing campaigns: ideas, money, organization, and luck. The biggest difference is that “organization” used to mean yard signs and today it means social networking.
5. Do you have any predictions on the 2010 election (in the state or nationally)? I’m cautiously optimistic about 2010 even though the Republican “brand” continues to poll poorly. I believe Republicans will be energized and Democrats deflated going into next year. Our challenge now is to recruit good candidates, don’t take anything for granted, and work hard and smart.

Peter Hans provides strategic advice on government relations to business clients at SZD Wicker, a Raleigh law firm. His background in public policy, political campaigns, and media relations provides clients with a unique resource. Peter worked on Capitol Hill as senior policy advisor to former U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth and then-U.S. Representative (now U.S. Senator) Richard Burr. He was a consultant to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole in her successful 2002 campaign. He was elected by the N.C. House of Representatives in 1997 to a six-year-term on the State Board of Community Colleges. Peter was elected by the N.C. Senate in 2003 to a four-year-term on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and was re-elected in 2007 for a second term. He was elected vice chairman of the Board in 2008. Peter is currently co-chairing a $5 million capital campaign for Urban Ministries of Wake County.

If you would like to answer “Five Questions” on RunSmart2Win.com, please contact Nathan Babcock.

Tags: NC GOP, NC Politics, Peter Hans

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