(The Center Square) – Fourteen. Count ’em.
Super large is the Super Tuesday primary for Republicans in the race for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District. Democrat Frank Pierce is awaiting the survivor at the general election start/finish line.
The rather oddly configured district has drawn GOP hopefuls in Smithfield’s Kelly Daughtry; Wendell’s Marcus Dellinger; Garner’s David Dixon; Raleigh’s Brad Knott, Steve Von Loor and Kenny Xu; Holly Springs’ Josh McConkey; Lillington’s James Phillips; Morrisville’s Siddhanth Sharma; Clayton’s Matt Shoemaker; Spring Lake’s Eric Stevenson; Wake Forest’s Fred Von Canon; and Zebulon’s Chris Baker and DeVan Barbour.
To avoid a May 14 runoff, a winner would have to get 30% of the votes. It is not a requirement for all candidates to live in the district, and some do not.
As much as what the race does have in terms of volume of candidates, it’s what it lacks that makes it an interesting watch. None of the 14 are in public office as they campaign, none seem to be on the attack of the other 13, and none are gaining notable endorsements – such as former President Donald Trump and leading gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson – or big-money donors like the Club for Growth.
There’s a consensus that Daughtry, Barbour, McConkey, Von Canon, and Knott are topping many voters’ lists. Barbour and Daughtry have name familiarity from the 2022 midterms, when they were behind Bo Hines – who eventually lost to Wiley Nickel – in the congressional primary. Both are from Johnston County, a strong Republican territory.
Von Canon has name recognition from failed bids for the state House of Representatives in 2020 and 2022. Knott was once a United States attorney, and his stumps tying immigration and crime are likely to resonate because there have been an estimated 11 million illegal crossings since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
Daughtry, a lawyer, is campaigning on conservative principles, highlighting her work with families, farmers and small businesses. She says, “Joe Biden is destroying our country.” She’ll vote to authorize military force to secure the border and pledges to stop out-of-control spending in Washington.
Von Canon, a successful software company founder, pitches himself as a conservative, constitutionalist, capitalist and Christian. His priorities include immigration, national debt, improved race relations, and the handling of gender dysphoria. “You can count on me to defend our values, and stop the assault on children that is happening from the womb to the classroom,” he says.
McConkey says he’ll support fiscal discipline, sound monetary policies and tax reform. He said the economy needs stimulation, and energy independence must be restored. He’s a doctor and U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel who believes in national security and the construction of a southern border wall. He wants policies to combat the opioid crisis.
Barbour says he’s pro-gun and pro-family, a true conservative who wants the country to get spending and inflation under control. He wants to build the border wall and vows to help farmers when he gets to Washington.
Knott’s campaign website priorities list has securing the border; standing with Israel; protecting the unborn; backing law enforcement; supporting school choice; protecting free speech; defending gun rights; and ending wasteful spending.
Daughtry hasn’t filed a campaign finance report, but she spent about $3 million in her last run for the Beltway. It was a campaign in which she took a beating for past donations to Democrats.
Von Canon, according to finance reports, began January with more than $405,000 cash on hand, McConkey $330,000, Barbour more than $196,000, and Knott nearly $194,000. McConkey had a lottery win reported Tuesday, and said he’ll use the after-taxes $541,670 in his campaign.
Xu’s campaign reports a little over $66,000 and Shoemaker’s says he has almost $19,000. It’s less than $1,300 for Dixon. In addition to Daughtry, there’s no report on the Federal Election Commission website for Dellinger, Von Loor, Phillips, Sharma, Stevenson or Baker.
Republicans in the district can vote in this primary, and those registered unaffiliated are eligible to choose to vote as well. The district includes all of Lee, Harnett, Johnston, Franklin, Person and Caswell counties, most of Granville, and a clockwise 12-to-6 border edge getting a little of Wake County.
The mail-in absentee ballot process began Jan. 19, in-person early voting starts Thursday and Primary Election Day is March 5. North Carolina is one of 14 states with both Democrat and Republican primaries on Super Tuesday.
