With just 25 days until absentee ballots are mailed out to voters and Democratic nominee Jamie Ager surging, Republicans have selected a candidate to replace incumbent Western North Carolina Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson) on the November ballot, after he withdrew under threat of censure by the House over sexual harassment allegations leveled by members of his staff.
During a meeting of the North Carolina Republican Party’s 11th Congressional District executive committee in Asheville on Aug. 10, Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson) was elected to take Edwards’ spot on the ballot, according to a source in the meeting. Of the 63 committee members, 51 attended.
The most recent list of candidates vying for Edwards’ ballot slot, published by NC-11 GOP Chair Merry Guy on Aug. 9, looked an awful lot like Republican Primary Elections past.
In 2022, Edwards narrowly defeated incumbent Rep. Madison Cawthorn after a protracted, tawdry drip campaign featuring photos and videos of Cawthorn in compromising situations finally persuaded voters to ditch the scandal-ridden one-term representative not 17 months into his term.
Buncombe County investment advisor and former Asheville Airport Authority Chair Matthew Burril finished a distant third in that contest, with 9.5% of the vote, far below Cawthorn’s 31.9% and Edwards’ 33.4%.
On Aug. 10, Burril was nominated by McDowell County’s David Patneude.
Kristie Sluder, a Buncombe County social worker, finished last that year with 1.5%. Sluder was nominated by Buncombe County’s Gloria Michael.
Real Estate Developer Ken McKim, of Highlands in Macon County, had entered that Primary contest, but later withdrew. McKim was nominated by his sister, Molly.
In 2024, Clay County business owner Christian Reagan took on Edwards in the Primary, pulling 31% of the vote to Edwards’ 69%. Reagan also ran for one of three available seats on the Clay County Board of Commissioners this spring, but was unsuccessful. Reagan was nominated by an executive committee member from Clay County whose name wasn’t available as of press time.
Two of the candidates hoping to replace Edwards had not previously run against Edwards — outspoken Christian conservative Chad Nesbitt of Leicester and Balkcom, of northern Henderson County. Nesbitt was nominated by Haywood County’s Joshua Mashburn, while Balkcom was nominated by Cherokee County’s Margo Ackiss.
The executive committee deliberated until well into the evening, after starting with candidate nominations and speeches from Balkcom, Burril, McKim, Nesbitt, Reagan and Sluder beginning shortly after 6:30 p.m. Vote totals were not immediately available.With Balkcom’s elevation, Republicans must now select someone to fill her ballot slot — she had sought a third term in her north Henderson House District 117. According to nonpartisan political mapping website davesredistricting.org, from 2016 to 2022 the 117th District performed at 57.4% for Republicans, but only 40.4% for Democrats.
The Republican nominee, expected to be chosen later this week, will face Democratic nominee Lynne Russo. Russo reported raising $45,000 in the second quarter of 2026 and had $22,000 on hand as of June 30. For the same period, Balkcom raised $15,000 but had $68,000 on hand.
How we got here
On April 30, Axios first reported that Edwards was the subject of an investigation by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee over allegations of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile workplace in regards to two young female staffers he showered with lavish gifts, expensive trips and comments about their appearance and weight.
On July 13, Edwards said in a release he sold the six Western North Carolina McDonald’s locations he owned with his wife of 46 years, Teresa.
On Aug. 3, the committee released its report, which recommended censure for the two-term member of Congress. Edwards denied the allegations.
Reporting from the Citizen Times Aug. 4 showed that Edwards had skipped votes — on autism programs, veterans’ health care and federal judgeships — to help one of the staffers decorate her Christmas tree, and that he later cancelled a tele-town hall with constituents to have dinner with her.
“That was my choice! I had far rather have dinner with you. I’ve rescheduled the Tele Town to next week,” Edwards said in a text to the staffer, according to the report.
At 3:32 a.m. on Aug. 5, Edwards announced his decision to withdraw from the race on social media, saying he would finish his term, which ends in early January 2027.
Balkcom’s nomination to replace Edwards on the ballot comes after nearly a week of speculation, rumors and a parade of the region’s heaviest political hitters declining to seek Edwards’ seat.
Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon), who represents the eight westernmost counties in North Carolina, said Aug. 5 that his work in the North Carolina Senate was “not yet finished.”
His colleague, Sen. Tim Moffitt, was thought by many to be the favorite but announced Aug. 8 he wouldn’t run either. Moffitt represents Henderson, Polk and Rutherford counties.
Eight-term Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell), who represents a string of counties along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains bordering Virginia, was mentioned by others as a potential candidate but never made a public statement and ultimately did not run.
Republican rising star, state House Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), serves as House majority whip and was also thought to be considering a run, but like Hise didn’t issue any public statements and did not run.
Retired Army Col. Rod Honeycutt, who currently serves as manager of Madison County — hit hard by Tropical Storm Helene — said Aug. 6 he would “stay the course” and would not seek Edwards’ seat. Honeycutt also ran against Edwards in the 2022 Republican Primary with some of the other candidates, finishing fifth with 6.5%.
Former Green Beret Adam Smith, who pulled 29.9% of the vote against Edwards in the March 3 Republican Primary Election, was rumored to be interested but ultimately did not seek the seat either.
Now what?
Balkcom’s nomination to fill Edwards’ slot on the November ticket comes with just over three weeks until voters who requested mail-in absentee ballots will begin receiving them. As of Aug. 10, there were 66 days until the state’s in-person early voting period begins, and 85 days until the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Meanwhile, Fairview farmer and Democratic nominee Jamie Ager, who won his March 3 Democratic Party Primary Election with 64.7% of the vote in a five-candidate field, has been campaigning for well over a year and has nearly $2.2 million in cash on hand as of June 30, after raising more than $3 million for the cycle.
Edwards’ second quarter fundraising report actually showed him moving backwards, with less cash on hand at the end of the quarter than at the beginning. His report showed him raising $940,000 for the cycle and with $486,000 in cash on hand as of June 30.
Ager, who was added to the Dems’ highly competitive “Red to Blue” program — targeting Republican-held districts thought to be vulnerable — in February, has also seen national headwinds against Republicans and local issues like lagging recovery from Helene nudge him closer to the finish line.The race had also drawn increased attention from two of the nation’s most closely watched election forecasters, both of which viewed the district as potentially competitive. Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved the contest into its toss-up category, signaling no clear advantage for either party, while the Cook Political Report rated the seat as leaning Republican.
Grayson Barnette, spokesperson from the Ager campaign, said Aug. 10 that “Republican insiders” had picked their candidate and that corporate PACs, Washington insiders and dark money groups now have a name to put on their checks.
“Jennifer Balkcom has already taken tens of thousands of dollars from corporate interests in Raleigh — and she knows they want someone in this seat who answers to them in Washington,” Barnette said. “Jamie Ager answers to the people of Western North Carolina and nobody else.”
Chris Cooper, political science professor at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, told the Citizen Times Aug. 10 that Edwards could distribute the cash that remains in his campaign account to other candidates, but would be subject to the same contribution restrictions as anyone else. He could also pay off any campaign debts, give the money to charity, give all of it to a super PAC or simply keep it in the campaign account for future use.
Balkcom wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Reporting by Cory Vaillancourt, Asheville Citizen Times / Asheville Citizen Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
