State legislative elections are still more than a year away, but some Western North Carolina candidates have already started campaigning.
And just like in 2018, the results of the 2020 election for state candidates will likely have a lot to do with President Donald Trump.
Western North Carolina’s longest running political feud just got longer – for the fifth time in as many elections, Waynesville Democrat Rep. Joe Sam Queen’s opponent in the District 119 House race in 2020 will be Bryson City Republican Mike Clampitt.
“I feel that WNC counties – Swain, Jackson and Haywood – need to have a real representative in Raleigh and somebody who will take and actually do what they say they’re going to do, and not just be a yes person to get people’s vote,” Clampitt said.
He lost to Queen in the competitive district in 2012 and 2014. In 2016, Clampitt edged out Queen by less than 1 percent and helped NC Republicans gain a veto-proof supermajority.
But Clampitt’s 2016 victory came on the coattails of an outpouring of support for President Donald Trump, and with Trump not on the ballot in 2018, Clampitt’s loss helped Democrats break that supermajority. With Trump on the 2020 ballot, the Queen-Clampitt race will again be one of the most watched in the state, and its outcome could again be determined by Trump, according to NC Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley.
“The Trump bump was easily worth two to three points across the state. He had a good 3.5 percent margin in the 11th district in particular, where he got more votes than anybody else,” Whatley said. “We saw a tremendous upsurge and I think frankly here in 2020, we're going to see an even bigger Trump bump.”
Getting Clampitt back to Raleigh will be a top priority for Republicans, who look to regain a supermajority that would have allowed them to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget veto.
“I think what we're seeing right now with the governor's veto and the fact that he's been able to sustain it this long shows you how important it is for you to have the veto override and it shows you how important it is for us to get those super majorities in both the House and the Senate,” Whatley said.
Candidate filing for 2020 legislative races begins this December, primaries are in March, and Election Day 2020 is Tuesday, Nov. 3.