Mark Walker had head start in Senate race, but struggled after Trump made his pick

Former Rep. Mark Walker came into the Senate race before any of his opponents, making it clear he wants to return to Washington.

It was December 2020 and state lawmakers had redrawn Walker’s U.S. House district to favor a Democrat, leaving him with little chance of retaining his seat.

Instead of seeking a fourth term, he turned his attention to the open seat left by retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. Since 2016, Burr had made it clear he would not seek a fourth term of his own and would leave his seat open in the 2022 election.

Walker, though first, is one of 14 Republicans vying for the party’s nomination to replace Burr on May 17.

“I haven’t thought two seconds about how big or how small of a field it is,” Walker told McClatchy then. “We don’t make decisions based on what may or may not be in front of us. We’re not running into this blind, either.”

Early on Walker was believed to have been a frontrunner, but has trailed his opponents, U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and former Gov. Pat McCrory, in polling and fundraising.

Who is Mark Walker?

Walker, 52, marketed himself in 2014 as an Washington outsider — with a Southern drawl and the confidence of a Baptist minister in front of a crowd.

That’s because he is one.

Born in Dothan, Alabama, Walker was raised by a Baptist minister in Florida and Texas and moved to North Carolina as a young adult.

He holds a degree from Piedmont International University and worked in financial management at Flow Automotive. He also served on the budget and finance team at the Greensboro Coliseum.

But Walker said eventually, he stopped resisting the call to be like his father and went to seminary before spending 16 years in the ministry.

It wasn’t until 2012, when a friend invited him to the Republican National Convention in Florida, that his attention turned to politics, he told Jewish Insider.

Then in 2014, while working as the pastor of arts and worship at Lawndale Baptist Church, he announced he would run for the House.

At the time, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a well-respected member of Congress who had served since 1985, had not yet announced his own plans to retire.

Once that happened, Walker faced a crowded field of candidates that included Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny, Guilford County Commissioner Jeff Phillips and Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr., the son of the state Senate leader.

Berger had the pedigree, the financial backing and the support, but Walker surprised everyone when he won enough votes to challenge Berger to a runoff and then won with 57% of votes.

He would go on to win the general election.

Walker goes to Congress

Walker’s support from constituents ebbed and flowed. He made ousting John Boehner as speaker of the House a campaign issue, but reneged on that promise once he got to Capitol Hill. Some of his staunchest supporters expressed outrage.

Walker also became entangled in a federal corruption probe that connected him to a scheme to bribe N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to reassign his deputy, but he never faced any criminal charges.

But more often than not Walker’s charismatic ability to capture the room has made more friends than enemies.

In Congress, Walker held many leadership positions including being the chairman of the Prayer Caucus and the Republican Study Committee, vice chairman of the House Republican Conference and serving on the subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism.

He is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump.

Trump factor

Political experts say Walker and Budd are so similar in political ideology and demographics that little separated the two until Trump’s endorsement of Budd.

State Republicans have told McClatchy that Walker was blindsided by the endorsement. After the announcement, for the first time, Walker began to drop in the polls.

Walker began to hedge on whether to stay in the race. In December, Walker visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s Florida residence, to discuss a possible endorsement if he switched to a run for a House seat.

It seemed likely to happen until a week later, when judges intervened to halt the election process.

The districts were later found to be unconstitutional and ordered to be redrawn. And once again, lawmakers left Walker without a clear path to victory.

Walker told his constituents he would take the Christmas holiday to pray about what to do next. Then he unveiled a bus that said he was staying in the Senate race.

“When we stepped away from Congress, it was in our hearts to run across North Carolina to be able to take what we’ve been able to do in central North Carolina, and take it across the state for the U.S. Senate,” Walker said.

This story was originally published April 24, 2022 at 6:00 AM.

Danielle Battaglia

McClatchy DC

Danielle Battaglia is the congressional impact reporter for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer, leading coverage of the impact of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and the White House. Her career has spanned three North Carolina newsrooms where she has covered crime, courts and local, state and national politics. She has won two McClatchy President’s awards and numerous national and state awards for her work.