NC congressional delegation headed for shake-up with 5 open seats and party shifts
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore won the Republican nomination for Congress in the state's 14th District on Tuesday, starting what was expected to be a thorough shake-up of the U.S. House delegation.
The 14th is one of three congressional districts expected to flip from Democrats to Republicans in the November election after the state's Republican-controlled General Assembly redrew voting maps fashioned by judges for the 2022 elections.
The new map seems likely to transform a delegation now comprising seven Democrats and seven Republicans to one with 10 Republicans and four Democrats.
"Congratulations to Tim Moore on his primary election victory. Tim has served North Carolina families in the state legislature for 12 years and was the Speaker of the state House for nine years. North Carolina voters will overwhelmingly send Tim to Congress in November." said Delanie Bomar, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Five incumbents didn't run for another term in the wake of the redistricting changes. Democratic Reps. Jeff Jackson, Kathy Manning and Wiley Nickel decided to forgo reelection bids in districts that are now much more heavily tilted toward Republicans. Republican Reps. Dan Bishop and Patrick McHenry are stepping aside for unrelated reasons.
SEATS THAT ARE LIKELY TO FLIP
While two of the seats likely to flip from Democratic to Republican have attracted large fields of candidates, Moore easily defeated two Republican opponents.
The Speaker's colleagues in the General Assembly redrew the 14th District in a way that seems to ensure the Kings Mountain lawyer will get his wish to serve in Congress. Moore is leaving the state Legislature after 21 years.
Army veteran and registered nurse Pam Genant won the Democratic nomination in the district, which includes portions of Charlotte and points west to the foothills.
Fourteen Republicans are competing for the open 13th District, now shaped like a horseshoe running north, east and south around Raleigh.
Candidates include Kelly Daughtry, a Smithfield attorney, and Johnston County businessman DeVan Barbour, who both ran in the 2022 primary. Television ads have helped raise the profiles of Wake Forest businessman Fred Von Canon and former federal prosecutor Brad Knott of Raleigh. And Josh McConkey of Apex, a physician who served in Iraq, gained attention after winning a state lottery jackpot. The nominee will take on Democrat Frank Pierce in November.
Six Republicans are running for the nomination in the currently Democratic 6th District. Blue Cross and Blue Shield lobbyist and political newcomer Addison McDowell has received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
McDowell's rivals include Bo Hines, who received Trump's endorsement before winning the 13th District GOP nomination in 2022, former Rep. Mark Walker, who served in Congress in the Greensboro area for six years through 2020, and Christian Castelli.
McDowell and Walker advanced to a runoff Tuesday evening. Unofficially, McDowell garnered 26.1% of the vote to Walker's 24.1%.
"All the so-called experts said I had no shot, but I had faith in the voters and it looks like they thought differently than the experts," said McDowell. "I owe a big thank you to President Donald J. Trump. President Trump endorsed me because he knows securing our southern border is very important to me. We lost my little brother Luke to fentanyl likely smuggled across the Southern border and I want to shut down that pipeline so other families don't suffer a similar tragedy. I am honored the voters of the 6th District have put me into this runoff and I'm going to keep working hard to win this thing on May 14."
No Democrat filed to run in the seat, which stretches from Greensboro and Winston-Salem south and west to Concord.
North Carolina law allows for a runoff if a candidate does not receive more than 30% of the vote. The second-place candidate has to request another election, which would take place May 14.
WHAT RACES WILL BE COMPETITIVE?
In the open 8th District seat, the Rev. Mark Harris is running again for the Republican nomination. Harris appeared to receive the most votes in the 2018 general election for Congress but never took office. A new election was ordered over an absentee ballot fraud probe and he decided not to run again. He now calls what happened a "manufactured scandal."
Also in the six-candidate race is state Rep. John Bradford of Charlotte. Justin Dues is the only Democrat running in the district, which stretches from Charlotte east to Lumberton.
The 10th district came open when McHenry, who had a brief stint in 2023 as the U.S. House speaker, unexpectedly announced that he wasn't running again.
The five Republicans seeking the party's nomination in the 10th include 2022 congressional candidate Pat Harrigan and state Rep. Grey Mills. The winner will take on Democrat Ralph Scott Jr. and a Libertarian Party candidate in the November general election.
Previous election data shows there remains one likely swing district in North Carolina. First-term Democratic Rep. Don Davis is running for reelection in the 1st District. He could end up in a 2022 rematch with Republican Sandy Smith. She is competing with ex-Army colonel Laurie Buckhout for the GOP nomination for the district in the northeast part of the state.
Late Tuesday night, Buckhout claimed victory. With 91% of the precincts reporting, she led Smith with 54% percent of the vote to 46%.
"Thank you to the voters of North Carolina's First Congressional District," said Buckhout. "I am honored you have selected me as your Republican nominee. I would also like to commend Sandy Smith for a hard-fought campaign. I never thought this would be easy and she made me earn this victory tonight. She's forced me to be a better candidate and I thank her. Now, we all have to work together and move forward because we have to stop the disastrous Joe Biden/Don Davis agenda!"
WHAT OTHER INCUMBENTS ARE RUNNING?
Several Republican incumbents are running again, including Rep. Virginia Foxx, who defeated a Republican challenger on Tuesday as she seeks an 11th term from the 5th District in northwestern North Carolina.
Republican Reps. Greg Murphy in the eastern 3rd District and David Rouzer in the southeastern 7th District are unopposed in the primaries. Chuck Edwards in the far-western 11th District and Richard Hudson in the Piedmont and Sandhills-area 9th District are also seeking reelection and defeated primary opponents whom they vastly outspent.
"Of course, I'm honored and thrilled to be named as the Republican nominee for the November ballot," Edwards said.
Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross in the Raleigh-dominated 2nd District won her party's nomination and will face Alan Swain who earned the Republican nod.
In a statement sent by her campaign, Ross said: "I am honored that the Democratic voters of Wake County have once again put their faith in me to serve as their voice in Washington. I pledge to continue working hard to secure the votes of people from across our community heading into November.
"While we are still awaiting the results of many races, one thing remains clear - North Carolina will be a critical battleground in 2024. The future of American democracy hangs in the balance in this election and North Carolina voters could play a decisive role in determining the outcome. In the months ahead, I will continue working across our state to turn out the vote for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot - from President Biden and our other statewide races to candidates for Congress and the General Assembly. North Carolinians will have a clear choice to make in November. It's up to all of us to reject extremism and bigotry and embrace opportunity and progress."
Ross served five terms in the state House of Representatives from 2003-2013, before resigning to work for GoTriangle. The former state director of the ACLU, Ross ran for Senate in 2016, where she lost to incumbent Sen. Richard Burr.
Four years later, Ross ran for Congress, where she won more than 63% of the vote in the general election. In 2022, Ross won by a slightly larger margin, defeating Republican Christine Villaverde.
Democratic Rep. Valerie Foushee in the Durham-area 4th District was unopposed and will face Republican Eric Blankenburg, while Rep. Alma Adams in Charlotte's 12th District was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will face the GOP's Addul Ali.
ABC11's Michael Perchick and The Associated Press contributed.
