Two Republicans announced their intention to run in the district currently represented by retiring North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, hours after the confidante of President Trump announced he would not seek reelection.
According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, hours before the filing deadline in the western North Carolina congressional district, state Sen. Jim Davis and Haywood County Republican Party Chairman Lynda Bennett filed to run for the House.
North Carolina’s new court-ordered map is shaking up the state’s congressional delegation. A pair of House Republicans, Mark Walker and George Holding, are leaving Congress after their districts were dismantled. The new map does move Meadows’s district somewhat to the left, from backing Trump 63%-34% over Hillary Clinton in 2016, to 57%-40%. But it’s still a GOP-leaning district, where the real action will come on the March 3 Republican primary.
“Congressman Mark Meadows’ retirement is a huge blow to Western North Carolina and movement conservatives all across our state and country,” Davis, who served in the state’s upper chamber since 2010, said in a statement. “I know I can’t fill Mark’s shoes but my experience in the state Senate shows I will stand with President Trump and fight for Western North Carolina’s conservative values.”
Davis touts himself as an anti-abortion advocate and has a lifetime A-rating from the NRA.
Bennett, a county Republican activist and real estate broker for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Heritage, was endorsed by the Asheville Tea PAC.
“Now, more than any other time, conservatives need to stand side by side with Lynda who has openly and consistently spoken out to embrace the principles and values time tested and enshrined in our Founding documents,” the Asheville Tea PAC statement said. “Congressman Mark Meadows has been a national leader who has tirelessly stood up to the corruption of the Deep State. We need a bulwark to follow that lead. Lynda Bennett is that choice.”
The office of Rep. Walker, whose district was redrawn to heavily favor Democrats, told the Washington Examiner that he will not run for the House seat held by Meadows, 60. Meadows on Thursday mused about the possibility of Walker moving about 100 miles cross-state to seek the open seat. Instead, Walker will finish his term in the House and run for the Senate in 2022.
“I believe the best way we can continue to serve the people of North Carolina is as a United States senator,” Walker said in a statement last week. “As I have always sought to have serving people supersede our ambition, I will dedicate my full heart and efforts to finishing my term in Congress.”
