Incumbent Republican Rep. David Rouzer has handily won his primary bid, taking 79 percent of the vote. His opponent was Max Southworth-Beckwith, an eighth-generation Marine veteran who works in home construction and rehab.
Rouzer is seeking to represent the 7th U.S. House district for a fifth term. Newly redrawn, the district includes Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender and Robeson counties, as well as part of Cumberland.
Primary 2022 Results, Wilmington:See live vote totals as they’re reported Election Night
Primary 2022 Results, Fayetteville:See live vote totals as they’re reported Election Night
The big win is no surprise. Rouzer, 50, did not face a primary opponent in 2020, in the previous 7th District. He won a commanding victory in that general election, taking 60 percent of the vote.
The results “should send a strong message to liberal elites in Washington — Republican enthusiasm is strong and voters are looking for solutions and leaders who put American families first,” Rouzer said in a statement.
The congressman has routinely blasted President Joe Biden and praised former President Donald Trump. In a response to a USA Today Network questionnaire, he said that the country faces six simultaneous crises, in energy, crime, inflation, border control, education and moral/spiritual life.
For the first five, he called for opening up all federal lands and leases for oil and gas exploration; reinstating President Trump’s border policies; funding the police; ending “excess spending under the guise of COVID-19”; and going back to basics in education.
The moral and spiritual crisis, he said, “can only be fixed by the family and the church.”
In Democratic race, Charles vs. Charles
After a back-and-forth night, State Rep. Charles Graham of Lumberton declared victory in the Democratic race. With all 196 precincts reporting, he had 31 percent of the vote. Under North Carolina law, a candidate may win their party’s nomination if they receive at least 30 percent of the vote plus one.
“We are happy to be the nominee and that the voters know I am best equipped to beat David Rouzer,” he said in a statement.
However, Cumberland County Commissioner Charles Evans, who held 29 percent of the vote, said, “I do not concede at this moment.” He said he might request a recount. He trailed by 758 votes of just under 41,500 counted.
N.C. State Board of Elections results are considered unofficial on Election Night given provisional and absentee ballots.
Graham, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, drew national attention when he released an ad about the Battle of Hayes Pond, when the Lumbee community shut down a planned KKK cross-burning in 1958.
North Carolina has not yet elected an indigenous person to Congress, according to Indian Country Today.
Steve Miller of Wilmington, a retired environmental-consulting businessman, came in third, followed by singer/activist Yushonda Midgette of Brunswick County.
Redistricting:NC Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block Congress map
Myron B. Pitts contributed reporting. Danielle Dreilinger is a North Carolina storytelling reporter. Her book The Secret History of Home Economics, an NPR Favorite History Book of 2021, is now out in paperback. Contact her at 919/236-3141 or [email protected].
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism