Elections
Mark Meadows won’t run for re-election, hints at work with Trump administration
North Carolina Republican Mark Meadows, an outspoken ally of President Donald Trump and former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is retiring from his U.S. House seat at the end of his term, he announced Thursday.
Meadows’ announcement comes the morning after Trump was impeached by Democrats in the House of Representatives. Meadows fiercely defended Trump throughout the House impeachment process.
Meadows represents far western North Carolina. His 11th district was slightly redrawn by state lawmakers last month and now includes all of Asheville, though it is still a Republican-leaning district. Meadows was previously considered a candidate for Trump’s White House chief of staff, and he said “my work with President Trump and his administration is only beginning.”
“This President has accomplished incredible results for the country in just three years, and I’m fully committed to staying in the fight with him and his team to build on those successes and deliver on his promises for the years to come. I’ve always said Congress is a temporary job, but the fight to return Washington, DC to its rightful owner, We The People, has only just begun,” Meadows said in a statement.
He said it was “a decision I struggled with greatly.”
Meadows is the third Republican House member from North Carolina to announce he is not running in 2020. Reps. George Holding and Mark Walker, whose districts were redrawn from solid Republican seats to Democratic-leaning ones, will not seek re-election in 2020.
The 60-year-old Meadows was first elected in 2011, winning an open seat vacated by Democrat Heath Shuler after redistricting. Meadows’ caucus helped oust former Republican House Speaker John Boehner and was known for fighting against spending increases. Meadows stepped down as chairman of the Freedom Caucus in October.
“The leadership of Mark Meadows is exemplary,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican and the current chairman of the caucus, in a statement. “Alongside his friend Jim Jordan, Mark envisioned a new way to defend and advance the American ideas of accountable and limited government, the Constitution and the rule of law, and policies that promote the liberty, safety, and prosperity of all Americans. Toward these ends, the Freedom Caucus was born, eventually so capably led by Mark.”
After Trump’s 2016 election, Meadows and the Freedom Caucus became his most vocal allies in the House.
Meadows has consistently defended Trump, particularly on regular television appearance, attacking the investigation into Russian collusion and, more recently, the impeachment process. House Democrats passed two articles of impeachment against Trump on Wednesday night. Meadows railed against impeachment during a three-minute speech on the House floor during debate, saying impeachment would “disenfranchise 63 million voters” who elected Trump.
Meadows developed a deep friendship with late Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. Cummings, an African-American, defended Meadows from charges of racism during a House hearing earlier this year. Cummings said to Meadows: “You’re one of my best friends” and noted that their friendship “shocks a lot of people.” Cummings died in October.
Meadows told Politico that it’s possible he could leave the House before his term ends in January 2021.
“I plan to serve the people of western North Carolina until it’s decided that I can best serve the president and the American people in a different capacity. And so while there’s no immediate plans, there’s certainly discussions that have occurred and potentially could occur in the future,” Meadows told Politico.
Who will run in 2020?
Meadows was likely to face criticism in the upcoming election over his lack of financial disclosures in required annual reports to Congress. The News & Observer reported in August that Meadows hadn’t paid property taxes on 83 acres of rural land in Bertie County for several years. The land is owned by a company that he manages. The company was reported; the land wasn’t.
He paid the $6,200 bill after a reporter’s inquiry. A spokesman said Meadows didn’t realize the taxes had gone unpaid because the bills had gone to an old address, but did not respond to questions about the lack of disclosure.
In October, The New Yorker reported that Meadows hadn’t disclosed selling 134 acres of land in Dinosaur, Colorado, three years ago to a Christian nonprofit based in Kentucky. Meadows was paid roughly $200,000, the magazine reported. Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, shortly after requested the House look into Meadows’ financial transactions and disclosures.
The filing period in North Carolina ends Dec. 20.
Four Democrats have filed to run in the 11th district: Steve Woodsmall, Gina Collias, Moe Davis and Michael O’Shea. Green Party candidate Tamara Zwinak has also filed.
Meadows’ announcement comes after the Dec. 17 deadline for candidates to withdraw their candidacy. And since North Carolina election law prohibits candidates from running for two offices, anyone who filed to run for a different office wouldn’t be able to jump into the 11th district race. The timing could box out state lawmakers — a group that jumped into special elections this year in the 3rd and 9th districts.
Shortly after Meadows announced his planned exit, Haywood County businesswoman Lynda Bennett sent an email to reporters saying she is pursuing the seat as a Republican and has launched a campaign website. She is the vice chair of the Haywood County Republican Party, and she said in her release that she is a strong supporter of Trump and Meadows.
In a phone interview, Bennett said she did not know in advance about Meadows’ plans, and would not have run if he had decided to seek re-election. She said she had set up the website in advance in case Meadows decided not to run.
“I think quite a few candidates had wondered, since he had not filed so late,” she said. “I may not be the only (Republican) to file, actually.”
State Sen. Jim Davis, a Macon County Republican, announced Thursday afternoon that he would run in the GOP primary. Davis, an orthodontist, had announced his retirement from the state Senate in September after five terms.
“Congressman Mark Meadows’ retirement is a huge blow to Western North Carolina and movement conservatives all across our state and country. I know I can’t fill Mark’s shoes but my experience in the State Senate shows I will stand with President Trump and fight for Western North Carolina’s conservative values,” Davis said in a statement.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
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