(The Center Square) – State Treasurer Dale Folwell, former Congressman Mark Walker and state Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger were among those filing for office on Thursday, the fourth day of the 2024 election’s two-week filing period in North Carolina.
Folwell is a gubernatorial candidate, Walker is running for the U.S. House District 6 seat, and Berger is running for reelection in District 26. Each is a Republican.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning, in a release Thursday afternoon, said she would not run for reelection under the maps as drawn. She said she’d consider running if they change.
North Carolinians will elect 14 members to the U.S. House of Representatives for two-year terms. The U.S. Senate seats are not on the ballot again until 2026 (Sen. Thom Tillis) and 2028 (Sen. Ted Budd).
All 170 seats in the General Assembly (two-year terms) will be on the ballot, as are the 10 Council of State offices (four-year terms). This includes the governor; lieutenant governor; attorney general; commissioners of agriculture and insurance; the secretaries of state and labor; auditor; treasurer; and superintendent of public instruction. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is in his second four-year term, the limit of consecutive terms allowed.
There will be at least six people in new positions within the Council of State. In addition to the governor, the lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and labor commissioner are either not running for reelection or are running for different offices.
The 2024 primary election is part of Super Tuesday on March 5 along with 12 other states. The general election is Nov. 5. The filing period closes at noon on Dec. 15.
All filings are available to the public through the state Board of Elections website. The following are notable filings for Thursday:
• U.S. House District 6: Republican Mark Walker. He’s a former congressman, was initially going to run for governor this cycle, and is opposed in the primary by Bo Hines.
• U.S. House District 13: Republicans Fred Von Canon and Siddhanth Sharma. Easily the most crowded primary field so far, with previous GOP filings by Josh McConkey, Chris Baker, Eric Stevenson, Kenny Xu and Brad Knott.
• Governor: In addition to Folwell, Democrat Marcus Williams. The Democratic primary now lists Chrelle Booker and Mike Morgan, and is expected to have state Attorney General Josh Stein. Stein was first in the state in either party, in January, to announce his intentions.
• Lieutenant governor: Republicans Deanna Ballard and Jeffrey Elmore.
• Secretary of state: Republican Christine Villaverde.
• Auditor: Republican Jim Kee.
• Superintendent of public instruction: Democrat Katie Eddings.
States that join North Carolina in holding primaries for both parties on Super Tuesday are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Iowa, which has the Republican caucus on Jan. 15, has the Democratic primary on March 5.
