NC candidates’ Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump, Cawthorn could shake up 2022 races
Former President Donald Trump offered former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker an endorsement Saturday if he switches races, said Jack Minor, Walker’s former chief of staff.
That’s the most prominent in a series of campaign moves backed by Rep. Madison Cawthorn that could set up North Carolina allies of Trump and Cawthorn to run for Congress from the mountains to the coast, according to a document from a Mar-a-Lago meeting Saturday that was obtained by The News & Observer.
Walker would have Trump’s endorsement if he leaves the crowded Republican primary for U.S. Senate and run for North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, Minor said.
“I would say he has not made a final decision on what he will do but he does expect an endorsement to transition over,” Minor said Monday.
Walker has spent nearly two years campaigning for Senate following the retirement of Sen. Richard Burr, but Trump passed him over in that race to endorse his opponent, U.S. Rep. Ted Budd.
Walker has trailed both Budd and former Gov. Pat McCrory in the polls since Trump endorsed Budd. And some Budd supporters worry that if Walker stays in the race he could take votes from Budd, pushing McCrory ahead.
A court halted, then restored, candidate filing in congressional and legislative races on Monday on the first day of scheduled filing. Minor said he did not expect Walker to file for office before Trump announces the endorsement.
Trump met with Walker at Mar-a-Lago Saturday evening to discuss the possible endorsement.
Minor said the men were joined in the meeting by Cawthorn, 7th Congressional District candidate Bo Hines and David McIntosh, the president of Club for Growth, a conservative group backing Budd for Senate.
Minor wouldn’t say more about the conversations that took place at Trump’s club and home in South Florida other than that Walker did not have to strike any deals to get the endorsement.
The N&O also obtained a flier that Politico first reported was handed out at the meeting and which indicates Cawthorn’s “plan” for the North Carolina election.
It shows his choice of candidates in the 2022 election that includes Hines moving to the 4th Congressional District to allow Walker a pathway in the 7th district.
The plan also includes Republican incumbents retaining their seats.
Cawthorn seemingly will throw his support behind newcomers Sandy Smith, a Trump supporter and attendee of the Jan. 6 rally in Washington who is running in the 2nd Congressional District, and Michele Woodhouse, the 11th District GOP chair running in the new 14th Congressional District where Cawthorn was originally expected to run.
Cawthorn caused his own shakeup this election cycle by announcing he would move from the newly drawn 14th district, where his home is, to the 13th Congressional District believed to have been drawn for House Speaker Tim Moore. Moore announced hours later he would seek reelection and not run for Congress.
The 7th District
Even without Hines, if Walker makes the switch he would face a crowded field of Kent Keirsey, Jennyfer Bucardo, Lee Haywood, Christian Castelli, Peter Boykin, Marvin Boguslawski and Chad Slotta in trying to win the Republican nomination in the March 8 primary, with the winner likely to win the GOP-leaning district. The district covers Alamance, Randolph, Chatham and Lee and portions of Wake, Guilford and Davidson.
No Democrats have filed to run in the district so far.
Walker is a resident of Autumn Crest Court in Summerfield, an area not included in the district. North Carolina law does not require a candidate to live in the area he or she represents.
Walker served three terms in Congress from 2015 to 2020, representing the 6th District. But in 2020, a court-ordered redistricting of North Carolina’s congressional map turned Walker’s district blue.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning of Greensboro won the congressional seat that year.
Walker announced then that he would focus his attention on a U.S. Senate run.
Race for US Senate
With Burr retiring and not running for reelection in 2022, Republicans, including Walker, Budd and McCrory, have been battling for the Republican nomination.
Many thought the three men would also face former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, but during the N.C. Republican Party’s convention in June she announced otherwise.
Instead, the former president took the stage and handed his endorsement to Budd in an announcement that surprised many Republicans.
Since then, Walker has trailed behind Budd and McCrory in the polls, with the latest showing McCrory with a slight lead over Budd.
Marjorie Eastman and Jen Banwart are also competing for the Republican nomination.
Whoever wins the race will face off against the Democratic nominee. Those vying for that position include former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and state Sen. Jeff Jackson.
Switching to House?
Rumors of Walker’s switch to a congressional run surfaced shortly after the N.C. General Assembly approved a new congressional district map on Nov. 4.
Lawmakers redrew Budd’s district without an incumbent, and with a Republican-leaning voting base that would make it difficult for a Democrat to win.
What had yet to be seen is if Trump will endorse a successor for Budd.
Cawthorn, an outspoken Republican aligned with Trump and at 26, the youngest member of Congress, has already thrown his name behind Hines.
Hines is a 2018 graduate from Yale University. He began his college career at N.C. State where he was an All-American football player. He transferred to the Ivy League his sophomore year but ended his football career after two games when he injured his shoulder.
If Walker switches races, it had been unknown whether Cawthorn would continue supporting Hines or switch his support to Walker, whom he endorsed for Senate.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 5:39 PM.