Republican state Sen. Tim Moffitt (District 48) and U.S. Army veteran Adam Smith announced over the weekend that they will not run to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) on the ballot in this November’s race for the 11th Congressional District.
State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (District 117), meanwhile, said she will seek the nomination, because “when your community needs you, you don’t sit on the sidelines; you step up.”
The announcements come as Republicans in the 11th District prepare to meet Monday night to decide on a candidate to replace Edwards, who dropped his reelection bid last week after a House Ethics Committee report detailed his sexual harassment of young female staff members.
The eventual Republican nominee will face Democrat Jamie Ager in what was already considered one of the most competitive congressional races in the country.
Moffitt had been considered a frontrunner in the race to replace Edwards on the ballot. But in a post on X Saturday afternoon, he said he has decided to remain in the state Senate.
“My responsibilities to my family and businesses would not allow me to commit to more than a few years in Congress,” Moffitt said. “Western North Carolina deserves a representative who can give the full measure of time required, both day-to-day and over the long-term. Anything less would be unfair to the people of this district.”
Smith, who unsuccessfully ran against Edwards in this year’s GOP primary, announced he won’t seek the nomination either.
“This seat must stay in conservative hands, and the best way I can serve that mission right now is to help our party unite immediately behind its nominee instead of dividing it on the eve of battle,” Smith said in a Facebook post Sunday night.
Balkcom had originally thrown her support behind Moffitt. But in an X post Sunday morning, she said she has decided to pursue a bid of her own “after much prayer, reflection, and conversations with my family.”
“I’m a Henderson County farm girl,” Balkcom said. “I know what it means to work hard, fight for what you believe in, and protect something so the next generation can inherit it.”
If Balkcom wins the nomination, she will have to drop her reelection bid for the state House. North Carolina law does not allow candidates to run for two offices at the same time.
Another potential candidate, state Rep. Jake Johnson (District 113), said over the weekend he won’t seek the nomination.
Johnson said on X that while he was born and raised in the 11th Congressional District, he is “one precinct outside of it under the current Congressional maps.”
Neither Johnson nor Smith said whether they are supporting another candidate in the race.
Mortgage broker Christian Reagan, who unsuccessfully ran against Edwards in the 2024 GOP primary, last week told the Smoky Mountain News he is “definitely” interested in running.
According to WLOS, several other Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination. They include 2022 congressional candidates Matthew Burril, Kristie Sluder and Ken McKim, and conservative influencer Chad Nesbitt.
Merry Guy, who chairs the 11th District Republican Party, outlined the process for Monday night’s meeting in a Facebook post. She wrote that the executive committee that will decide on the nominee includes the party’s district officers, county chairs, vice chairs and 25 at-large members, for a total of 63 people.
Nominations will be made on the floor at Monday night’s meeting, and candidates will be allowed to briefly address the gathering, she wrote in the post. A vote by paper ballot will follow. If no candidate receives 50% plus 1 of the votes cast, a second round of voting will take place featuring the top two vote-getters.
“I am confident we will select a candidate worthy of the seat and willing to work hard for WNC and the USA and I am looking forward to getting the vote out!!” Guy said in the post.
The meeting at the Buncombe County Republican Party headquarters begins at 6:30 p.m.
Ager says he’s keeping focus on Helene recovery, cost of living
At an event in Asheville last Thursday, Jamie Ager said Edwards’ decision to drop his reelection bid won’t change the way he runs his own campaign.
“I feel like we’re running this race for Helene recovery, for the cost of living’s too high, and for the fact that corruption’s winning in America right now, and that’s not okay,” Ager told BPR in an interview after the event. “I love this country, and when corruption’s the way you win, that makes me feel pretty mad. And we need better leaders who aren’t going to put up with that.”
About 80 people attended the event in Asheville’s Oakley neighborhood.
Louise Baker, a Democrat who lives in Asheville, praised the Edwards staff members who reported the congressman’s behavior.
“People should know that you have to do the right thing, and if you don’t, it will catch up with you. It’s happening all over the country,” Baker told BPR. “It's admirable that people have spoken up and brought up that there’s been some allegations of abuse or whatever. Those are brave people to do that.”
She cited affordability as the main issue on her mind ahead of the November elections.
“Asheville has gotten so expensive. … I’m lucky I have an income, but I think there’s a lot of people that can’t afford decent housing here,” Baker said.
