RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A former North Carolina congressman who finished second in last week’s primary for essentially his old U.S. House seat will not seek a runoff Wednesday and will instead join the Donald Trump campaign. announced.
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who served in Congress for six years until 2020, is running in Central North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, which stretches from Greensboro and Winston-Salem southwest to Concord.
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Trump supporter Addison McDowell, the top vote-getter in the six-candidate Republican primary on March 5, received the 30% vote needed to avoid a May 14 runoff. could not exceed. But state law says it’s up to Walker to formally call a runoff.
A campaign spokesperson confirmed that Walker would not call for a runoff. That means Mr. McDowell won the primary outright, and with no Democratic opponent this fall, he will almost certainly become the next 6th District representative.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, who currently represents the 6th District, did not seek reelection because the Republican-led Legislature’s redistricting shifted her seat significantly to the right. No other Democratic members put forward any candidates.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Walker answers questions during a debate moderated by Spectrum News political anchor Tim Boyum at the Spectrum News studio on April 20, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina voters in the Tuesday, March 5, 2024 primary election. They were choosing candidates for president and many other offices, from governor and attorney general to seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congress, and state judges, including Walker’s race in the 6th District.
In a social media post early Wednesday morning, President Trump said he has asked Walker, a former Baptist pastor, to “join my campaign team to work with faith groups and minority communities, and he has agreed to do so immediately.” ” he said.
“Mark and I have achieved many victories together, and I look forward to continuing to build bridges to all communities in this great country,” President Trump wrote.
Walker, whose tenure in Congress was marked by efforts to support historically black colleges and universities, acknowledged his hiring in a news release on Tuesday, saying he had spoken with Trump.
“I plan to continue my work building bridges and look forward to bringing these skills to the Trump campaign,” he said.
Mr. McDowell, most recently a lobbyist for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, first emerged as a candidate in December, having already received formal support from President Trump. McDowell later received support from top leaders in the state Legislature.
Mr. McDowell previously worked for Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson’s campaign and as a district staffer for then-Congressman Hudson. Ted Budd is currently a U.S. senator. In a news release, McDowell thanked Budd for mentoring him and introducing him to Trump in 2016.
McDowell said of Trump, “I can’t wait to work in Congress to help secure our southern border and fight for the America First Agenda, which prioritizes protecting and promoting American jobs.”
McDowell aired a television commercial talking about his efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico border in light of his brother’s death from a fentanyl overdose in 2016.
For Walker, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2014, redistricting was a factor in not seeking re-election. He finished third behind Mr. Budd in the 2022 Senate primary, and Mr. Budd was endorsed by Mr. Trump in the same election. Walker also ran for governor for several months last year, after which he moved to the 6th District seat.
But the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District is heading to a runoff, with runner-up Brad Knott officially filing on Wednesday. Smithfield attorney Kelly Daughtry received the most votes in Wednesday’s 14-candidate race, which encompasses much of Raleigh and extends to the Virginia state line, but fell short of getting more than 30 percent. The eventual winner will face Democrat Frank Pierce.
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Representative Wiley Nickel (Democratic), who currently represents the 13th District, is also not seeking re-election because his district shifted to the right in last fall’s redistricting.
North Carolina’s map used for the 2022 election shows Democrats and Republicans each gaining seven seats. But election data shows Republicans are likely to win at least 10 of the 14 seats in the latest maps, helping the national Republican Party as it seeks to maintain its currently fragile House majority in 2025.
