Rep. Mark Meadows, one of President Trump’s staunchest allies in the House, says his North Carolina Republican colleague Mark Walker could run for the seat he’s vacating on the western end of the state.
Walker said earlier this week he would not seek reelection in the north-central North Carolina seat he has represented since 2015 after the redistricting dismantled it and left him without a viable seat to seek. Walker’s district became heavily Democrat after the state legislature was forced to redraw the congressional maps under threat of court orders.
Walker announced he would explore the state’s 2022 Senate race. However, North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows’s retirement may be a new opening for the Baptist pastor.
Meadows announced early Thursday morning he would not be running for reelection in is own district and told the Washington Examiner Walker would be a viable candidate. The filing deadline is Friday.
“He lives about a hundred miles away, but, he could file,” Meadows said. “I don’t know if he is. You just have to be a resident of the state.”
Meadows won his last reelection with nearly 60% of the vote. The Cook Partisan Voter Index rates his district as R+14, though the new version is a bit less reliably Republican since it takes in the liberal enclave of Asheville. While Walker has made no public indication he plans on running for Meadows’s seat, the filing deadline is Friday.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Walker’s office for comment.
