State Rep. Caleb Rudow on Tuesday announced he will run for the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R), declaring that Western North Carolina "deserves representation that works for working families."
Rudow, who was appointed to his current seat in February 2022 and won election later that year, was the first Democrat to enter the race in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District.
Edwards has represented the district since January; he was preceded in Congress by Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Mark Meadows. The district includes more than 14 counties in Western North Carolina and has been in Republican hands for more than a decade.
Rudow is a data scientist and former Peace Corps Volunteer. In a phone interview Tuesday, he said his campaign is focused on issues including health care, affordable housing and the protection of natural resources.
“I would describe this job as one in which everything is on fire and you have a small bucket of water to put it out," Rudow said of serving in Congress. "You’ve got to be really focused on what are the biggest issues you want to focus on, and kind of be laser-focused on the issues that are most important. And I think what you’ve seen Chuck Edwards do is lose focus."
He criticized Edwards for introducing federal legislation on recreational marijuana use instead of focusing on addressing the opioid crisis or the closure of the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton.
Edwards sent BPR a response to Rudow's comment on Thursday saying, "The hollow rhetoric from my Democrat opponent has begun."
"[Rudow] correctly points out that the world is on fire," Edwards said citing a long list of issues including inflation, the national debt, border security and drug deaths. "My opponent should be forth right and honest with NC-11 and tell us which of these fires he would let continue to burn out of control."
Any Democrat running in the 11th Congressional District faces tough odds in 2024. The election will feature new congressional and state legislative maps drawn by the Republican-majority state legislature, and the district remains Republican-leaning.
Prior to redistricting, former president Donald Trump won the 11th District with 55 percent in 2020. The newly-redrawn district would have voted 56 percent for Trump.
Only five Democrats in Congress currently represent districts that Trump won in 2020. None of them represent a district that voted for Trump by more than 53 percent.
Chris Cooper, professor of political science at Western Carolina University, said that by running for Congress rather than for reelection to his seat in the heavily-Democratic 116th state House district, Rudow is running in a race that is "going to be extremely difficult to win."
"This is the most flippable seat in North Carolina for Democrats, but that's not saying much," Cooper said, referring to the seat currently held by Edwards. "There are no competitive seats that the Republicans are holding, and this is no exception."
In Tuesday's interview, Rudow acknowledged the steep odds but pointed to recent Democratic victories in Ohio, where voters this month approved measures protecting abortion rights and legalizing recreational marijuana use.
“I really think we need folks who are willing to take on hard races and folks who believe in the kind of underdog story and that, you know, we need people to step up to these kinds of moments," Rudow said.
Primary elections are scheduled for March 5, 2024. Election Day is on November 5.
This story has been updated to include Edwards response.
