The date has been set for the special election being held in the 3rd Congressional district of North Carolina.
North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper issued a Writ of Election which set the date of July 9, 2019, for the special election. Absentee voting for the special general election will start May 24th.
“People in eastern North Carolina need a voice in Congress,” Gov. Cooper said in a statement. “We’re moving ahead so they can choose their new representative quickly.”
A primary date of April 30th and Absentee ballot voting for the primary is slated to start March 15th. If a primary runoff situation arises from July 9 election, the special general election will be pushed back to September 10, 2019.
Candidates have until March 8th to file to run for the seat.
The seat had been held for fourteen years by Republican Walter Jones who passed away February 10th. On January 2nd, Jones indicated that he would not be running again in 2020 and later that month it was announced he had entered into Hospice care.
North Carolina Republican Party’s Vice Chairwoman Michele Nix was the first to file for the seat, but others are now lining up.
State House Representatives. Greg Murphy, Michael Speciale, and Phil Shepard have all said they intend to run. Only Rep. Murphy, who is a medical doctor, has filed so far.
State Senator Harry Brown (R-Jones/Onslow) had been rumored to be considering it, however, he is not running according to a post on his Facebook page this weekend.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve been approached by many friends from both parties in eastern North Carolina about running for Congress in the 3rd District. Many Republicans in Washington have also encouraged me to run. After seriously considering running my wife Lisa and I have decided against it,” wrote Brown on Facebook.
Other Republicans who have filed with the Federal Elections Commission include Phil Law, who ran against the late Walter Jones twice and Jeff Moore, who a member of former Governor Pat McCrory’s administration.
Sandy Smith, another Republican, has never run for office before. She lives in Winterville with her husband and has four daughters.
“It is not what you do when everyone is watching you, it is what you do when no one is,” Smith says on her website. “I will be representing everyone in the 3rd district not just those that voted for me! I’m here to solve problems not to just tell you what is wrong and who’s to blame.”
No one on the Democrat side of the aisle has officially filed yet, however, Ollie Nelson told JDNews.com that he intends to run.
– – –
A.P. Dillon is the North Carolina Bureau Chief for The Tennesee Star and a reporter at Battleground State News. Follow A.P. Dillon on Twitter. Email Tips to [email protected].
