The more the merrier! 26 candidates have filed to run for the open seat for North Carolina US House district 3. This is the seat vacant since the death of Representative Walter Jones Jr. (R).
Running are 6 Democrats, 17 Republicans, 2 Libertarians, and 1 Constitutional Party member. Of the democrats, we have some good options. The former mayor of Greenville, Allen Thomas, filed to run today. He is currently the Executive Director of the Global Transpark in Kinston. He will have to relinquish this job to run for office. He served 3 terms as Greenville’s mayor and is credited with bringing tremendous investment to uptown Greenville. By the time he left office to accept the job at the Global Transpark, Greenville had more investment in uptown Greenville development than all cities in North Carolina except Charlotte. Greenville is currently the 10th largest city in the state.
The current mayor of New Bern, Dana Outlaw is also running. He was seen in news coverage after Hurricane Florence caused extensive flooding there. He showed the area to President Trump when he visited the damaged area. Many feel he did a good job during the storm and it’s aftermath.
Ernest Reeves is another running for the democratic nomination. He has run unsuccessfully for other offices in the area over the years.
I’m not familiar with the other 3 democrats running.
On the Republican side, there are several familiar names, many who have run for office before. The one I am most familiar with is Greg Murphy, a local doctor. Dr. Greg Murphy is in the state house and won his last race in part by advertising with a banner behind an airplane flying over local college football games. It read, “It’s good to have a doctor in the house.”
I’ve noticed there are 3 candidates who list home addresses which are not in the district. Two are republicans and one is libertarian.
District 3 is a gerrymandered district with a majority of republicans. It chops into part of Greenville then includes areas south of Greenville including Winterville, Ayden, Kinston, New Bern, Trenton, Jacksonville, Morehead City, the Outer Banks, Nags Head, and Elizabeth City.
One issue facing these candidates is the Federal Government’s plan to have seismic testing off the coast for natural gas and oil drilling. Tourism and fishing are big business for coastal communities in this district. East Carolina University is in Greenville near the edge of district 3. Jacksonville and Havelock have large military bases in this district.
You can see more on the list of candidates for the North Carolina US House District 3 special election from WITN, the local NBC affiliate.
In each of the Democratic and Republican primaries on April 30th, a candidate needs to win with at least 30% to avoid a runoff on July 9th. The general election is set for September 10th.