Politics

Edwards announces re-election campaign

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards listens as an arborist for the U.S. Forest Service talks about huge tulip poplar trees in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. [LIGHTNING FILE PHOTO]

By Lightning Reports, Published: November 16, 2023

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards on Thursday announced his candidacy for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Edwards, a Western North Carolina native and businessman, was elected to Congress in 2022 after serving three terms in the North Carolina Senate.

His work ethic and business acumen were quickly recognized in Washington, where he secured positions on the House Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, Oversight and Government Accountability committees and, just this week, the powerful House Appropriations Committee, a rare assignment for a first-term lawmaker.

Edwards will become the only North Carolina House member — Republican or Democrat — on the committee, and will become the first North Carolina House Republican to serve on the committee since former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor. 

“I am truly honored that my House colleagues looked at my business background and experience in the North Carolina Senate and saw that I could contribute in this significant way in Washington,” Edwards said.“I am also proud to be following in the footsteps of former Congressman Charles Taylor to use this position to help make a difference for Western North Carolina. I have always said we need to bring more of NC to DC, and I plan to do that in this role.”

Members of the House Republican Steering Committee — led by House Speaker Mike Johnson and including Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger and other House leadership members and committee chairs — selected Edwards to serve on the panel.

“I welcome Chuck to the committee and very much look forward to working with him," Granger said. "His common sense approach and background as both a state appropriator and businessman will be valuable in our effort to responsibly fund the federal government.”

“I congratulate my good friend and fellow North Carolinian, Rep. Chuck Edwards, for earning a coveted seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee,” said U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “This is a big deal for the people of North Carolina because we finally have a voice on the committee that decides how tax dollars are spent.”

The appointment will be ratified by the House Republican Conference and voted on by the House after Thanksgiving.

“Representing the citizens of the very mountains where I was born, raised a family, and built a business has been among the highest privileges of my life," Edwards said in his re-election campaign announcement. "My first term has been focused on proving myself in our nation’s capital, where I have secured strong committee appointments and have built a team to help make a difference in the lives of mountain families.

“I have been honored to work to restore our nation’s fiscal sanity, protect our freedoms, hold the Biden administration accountable, and enable Americans to succeed. But I can't turn back now. There's still plenty of work left to do. I hope the citizens of WNC will allow me the honor of returning to Washington and building upon my first term accomplishments to make a greater difference.”