The Story:
Of all the campaigns this year that may affect the balance of power between the major parties in the House of Representatives, one of the most closely watched is unfolding in the 11th district in North Carolina. The incumbent, Republican Mark Meadows, is not running for reelection. Meadows was one of President Trump’s most vociferous defenders when the House was considering impeachment, so the question is: will Trump lose a reliable supporter, or just swap out one for another?
The Primaries:
The Republican and Democratic Parties in the 11th each holds a primary for this seat on March 3. There are 11 candidates, notably Lynda Bennett and Dillon Gentry, on the Republican side and 5 candidates, notably Michael O’Shea and Morris (“Moe”) Davis, on the Democratic side. Davis is a former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay.
A recent redistricting has included the city of Asheville within the 11th, and this has made the Congressional seat at least slightly less reliably Republican than it used to be.
The Thing to Know:
Meadows himself backs Lynda Bennett. Oddly, though, given Meadows’ own reputation, and his support for her, there is a whispering campaign underway to paint Bennett as a “never Trumper” and thus as an inadequately reliable Republican/conservative.
