Jennifer Balkcom replaces Chuck Edwards as GOP nominee in North Carolina race
North Carolina Republicans chose state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom for the 11th District ballot after Chuck Edwards ended his campaign.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Jennifer Balkcom replaces Chuck Edwards as the Republican nominee in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, after the district GOP executive committee selected the state representative to take his place on the November ballot.
Balkcom, a Republican state lawmaker from Henderson County who has served in the North Carolina House since 2023, now faces Democratic nominee Jamie Ager, according to NBC News, NOTUS and The News & Observer. Ager won the Democratic primary in March, NBC News reported.
Why did Republicans choose Chuck Edwards’ replacement instead of holding a primary?
This was a ballot vacancy, not a second primary. North Carolina law allows a party executive committee to select a replacement when its nominee withdraws, The News & Observer reported. Under state GOP rules cited by NOTUS, committee members vote and the first candidate to win more than half the vote becomes the nominee.
The committee’s choice comes with the campaign already well underway. The Assembly reported that ballots were scheduled to start going to voters on Sept. 4, leaving Balkcom little time to build a congressional campaign against Ager.
What opened the seat?
Edwards said last week that he would finish his current congressional term but would not seek another one, NBC News reported. His withdrawal followed a House Ethics Committee report recommending that he be censured.
According to NBC News, the panel found substantial reason to believe Edwards violated House rules concerning sexual harassment and hostile workplaces. NOTUS reported the committee found substantial evidence that his conduct toward two female staff members ran against the spirit of the House prohibition on sexual harassment and unwanted advances.
Edwards has denied wrongdoing. NBC News reported that he denied any sexual or romantic intent, while his attorneys described the ethics panel’s findings as unfounded.
Balkcom takes over a tightened contest
Balkcom first said she was not pursuing the nomination and would support state Sen. Tim Moffitt, The Assembly reported. She entered the running after Moffitt decided against a bid. Other Republicans also sought the spot, including Ken McKim, Chad Nesbitt, Matthew Burril and Kristie Sluder, according to NOTUS.
The race had already drawn national attention. NBC News reported that Cook Political Report shifted the district from Likely Republican to Lean Republican before the Ethics Committee report was released. NOTUS reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put Ager in its Red to Blue program in February.
For Balkcom, the committee vote offers a fast route from the state House to a federal race. For voters in western North Carolina, it resets the Republican side of a contest that had been headed by Edwards only days earlier.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.