RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina representative who finished second in last week’s primary for essentially his old U.S. House seat announced on Wednesday that he won’t ask for a runoff and will join Donald Trump’s campaign instead.
Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who served in Congress for six years through 2020, ran in the central North Carolina 6th District, which stretches from Greensboro and Winston-Salem south and west to Concord.
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The top vote-getter in the six-candidate March 5 Republican primary, the Trump-endorsed Addison McDowell, failed to exceed the 30% vote threshold needed to avoid a May 14 runoff. But state law said it was up to Walker to formally ask for the runoff.
A campaign spokesperson confirmed that Walker will not request a runoff, meaning that McDowell won the primary outright and almost assuredly will be the next 6th District representative, since he will face no Democratic opposition this fall.
Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, the current 6th District representative, did not seek reelection, citing redistricting by the GOP-controlled legislature that made the seat lean significantly rightward. No other Democrat filed as a candidate.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Walker answers a question during a debate moderated by Spectrum News political anchor Tim Boyum at the Spectrum News studio, April 20, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina voters in the primary election on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, were choosing nominees for president and a host of other positions, from governor and attorney general to seats in the U.S. House — including Walkers race in the 6th District — the General Assembly and state judgeships.
Trump, in a social media posting earlier Wednesday, said that he had asked Walker, a former Baptist pastor, to “join my Campaign team to work with Faith Groups and Minority Communities, and he has agreed to immediately do so.”
“Mark and I had many Wins…
