North Carolina GOP picks Jennifer Balkcom after Edwards drops out over allegations

North Carolina Republicans picked state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom on Monday to replace Chuck Edwards as their nominee in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, giving her about 80 days to campaign before November’s election. The district covers western North Carolina, and party officials moved quickly to settle the vacancy after Edwards stepped aside.

Edwards withdrew from his re-election campaign in early August after the House Ethics Committee recommended that he be censured. The committee said there was substantial reason to believe he violated House rules involving sexual harassment and maintaining a hostile workplace. Its report, adopted July 22 and released Aug. 3, said Edwards engaged in inappropriate or highly unprofessional conduct with two young female staffers, including one who was 19 and another in her early 20s.

In announcing his exit, Edwards said, “After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign,” as pressure mounted over his conduct toward two female staffers. The withdrawal left Republicans scrambling to replace an incumbent they had expected to carry the seat into the general election.

The North Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee met Monday, Aug. 10, to choose the new nominee. Names floated in the replacement search included Tim Moffitt, Kevin Corbin, Ralph Hise, Chad Nesbitt, Ken McKim, Matthew Burrill, Kristie Sluder, Zach Almond and Jamie Ager. One account said Kevin Corbin had bowed out while Tim Moffitt weighed a bid, underscoring how compressed the decision became once Edwards exited.

Balkcom’s selection turned a once-routine defense into a hurried reset for Republicans in a district centered in western North Carolina. The party now has to introduce a new candidate, recover from the ethics fallout around Edwards and hold a seat it had planned to contest with an incumbent already on the ballot.