Edwards debacle spurring political game of musical chairs in WNC
THAT is what we’re hearing from that neck of the woods. Ted Budd‘s call for Chuck Edwards to scram apparently paid off. Edwards confirmed today he is bailing on his reelection bid to the Eleventh congressional district seat. We have about three months until the election. That creates a big gaping hole and a big gaping problem for North Carolina (and DC) Republicans.
Some well-placed Haymaker fans in DC tell us that the Capitol Hill crowd was already counting Edwards as a *goner* well before the ethics report dropped and ol’ Chuck announced he was quitting. Who seriously is willing to take on a congressional race – from scratch – with three months to go?
We understand that Edwards has until September 3 to formally alert Republican leaders in his district of his intention to quit the race. Once he does that, GOP leaders in the 11th will get together and nominate a replacement candidate to take on Democrat Jamie Ager.
Two names that have been floated hot-and-heavy as replacements have been state senator Tim Moffitt and Adam Smith, a businessman and Army special forces veteran who ran against Edwards in the March primary.
The word I hear from folks close to this discussion involves three different candidates and two General Assembly seats in addition to Edwards’ congressional seat.
The 11th congressional district includes all of these counties: Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk (part), Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey.
Senator Moffitt (district 48 – Henderson, Polk, Rutherford) would be tapped to replace Edwards
as the GOP nominee in the 11th district. State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (district 117 – Henderson) would move over to run for Moffitt’s senate seat. The third piece to this puzzle would involve Adam Smith, Edwards’ primary challenger from March, running for the state House seat now held by Balkcom.
That’s a lot of moving around very close to the election. It’s a lot of risk to the majorities in both legislative chambers in Raleigh.
There is one issue that ought to give folks pause about Moffitt. He is tied to the Greater Carolina bourbon tour scandal. He went on at least one of the trips. It’s been reported that he was the only legislator who bothered to list the trip on his state ethics forms.
The prosecutor overseeing the probe into Greater Carolina is currently saying that no sitting legislators are at risk of being charged. (At least, right now.)
What are the chances of Moffitt running for Congress and there being new developments involving him in the Greater Carolina probe?
With the messy US Senate race – and now THIS – campaign 2026 in North Carolina is set to be more
outrageous and racier than anything the producers of the late Jerry Springer’s daytime show ever came up with.
I can hear my mother now. “When it rains it pours”.
If this can happen at this point to Chuck Edwards, it should certainly happen to both Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley. What Chuck is accused of doing sounds dumb, but what we know Cooper and Whatley have done is far worse, and should disqualify them both from office. I don’t have a good suggestion for the democrats replacing Cooper in this race, but I do insist that Whatley should be forced out and that Don Brown should be put on the ballot, instead. I can’t make it happen by myself, people. Help me out here.