North Carolina GOP committee picks Jennifer Balkcom to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards on November ballot

A panel of Republican officials in North Carolina selected a state lawmaker Monday as the GOP nominee in a House race after embattled Rep. Chuck Edwards dropped his re-election bid following sexual harassment allegations.

Jennifer Balkcom, who represents a state legislative district in Henderson County, will face Jamie Ager, who won the Democratic primary in March.

The North Carolina GOP’s Executive Committee for the 11th Congressional District picked Balkcom to replace Edwards in compliance with state law given how late in the campaign he dropped out.

Balkcom faces a sprint to Election Day, which is less than three months away. Absentee ballots are set to start going out Sept. 4, giving her just a few weeks to make her case to some voters.

She announced her intention to seek the nomination less than 24 hours ago.

“This race is too important to sit out,” Balkcom wrote in a statement Sunday on X, adding that Western North Carolina “needs a strong voice right now” as it continues to rebuild after Hurricane Helene.

Balkcom’s candidacy was heavily boosted by power players in the state. North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, a Republican, endorsed her on social media Monday afternoon, calling her “the right person at the right time.”

“Jennifer is a principled conservative, a tireless advocate for her district, and a leader who gets things done,” Hall wrote on X.

The state GOP’s executive director, Zachary Almond, congratulated Balkcom on X after her nomination was announced, saying he was “excited to work alongside her and her team throughout the election cycle.”

Edwards, who had been endorsed by President Donald Trump, announced last week that he would serve out his term in Congress but would not seek a third term in the House. His decision came days after the House Ethics Committee recommended a censure following a probe that found “substantial reason to believe Representative Edwards violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces.”

He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and the Ethics Committee said Edwards, who cooperated with the panel’s investigation, had denied that any of his actions were meant to be sexual or romantic in nature. Attorneys for Edwards wrote a 15-page response to the committee’s findings, calling them “unfounded.”

Edwards previously called the allegations “baseless,” and in May he said he welcomed an investigation.

Edwards was elected to the House in 2022 after having ousted the scandal-ridden Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the GOP primary. Before that, the district was represented by Mark Meadows, who led the House Freedom Caucus before he stepped down to become White House chief of staff during Trump’s first term.

Edwards won his seat by more than 13 percentage points in 2024, but Democrats are hopeful they can flip it as Republicans seek to defend their narrow majority in the House heading into the midterm elections.

Ager, a farmer who significantly outraised Edwards in the race, was previously listed as “Likely Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. The rating was downgraded to “Lean Republican” before the House Ethics Committee report was released.