Politics

VOTER GUIDE: House District 113

By Lightning Reports, Published: February 20, 2026

Mike Hager, a former House majority leader, is challenging four-term incumbent Jake Johnson in the Republican primary for the state House District 113 seat. The winner faces Democratic nominee Mason Rhodes in the Nov. 3 general election.

A three-term member of the House before he resigned in August 2016, Hager, 63, emphasized the need for mental health funding.

“We’ve cut mental health since 2016, year after year,” he told Rutherford County radio station WCAB when he announced his candidacy in October. “Sheriffs and district attorneys tell me mental health is the No. 1 issue they face. If we don’t invest here, we’re going to keep seeing the same problems—crime, school closures and underfunded services.”

Johnson, a former chair of the Polk County Board of Commissioners, is deputy majority whip of the House. Appointed to the state House in August 2019, he has won re-election three times since then.

Johnson, 31, has the support of House Speaker Destin Hall, State Auditor Dave Boliek and Labor Commissioner Luke Farley and the chairs of the boards of commissioners of Henderson, Rutherford, Polk and McDowell counties. A real estate agent, he lives in Columbus.

House District 113 covers all of Polk county and parts of McDowell, Rutherford and Henderson counties. Henderson County precincts in House 113 are Armory, East Flat Rock, Flat Rock, North Blue Ridge, Raven Rock, South Blue Ridge and Southeast.

Why are you running for the North Carolina Legislature?

Hager: The cost of living in WNC has become a strain on our seniors, small businesses and families. The Legislature must address these affordability issues which constrain our economy. Lowering property taxes for the most vulnerable seniors, reducing energy cost and allowing our law enforcement to do their jobs are all issues I’ll be addressing.

Johnson: I am running for reelection to the North Carolina Legislature because we have had success delivering on our campaign commitments of protecting the sanctity of life, supporting the second amendments and lowering the income tax. However, new challenges have emerged. Due to Biden inflation, the cost of living is through the roof, and we have to take action to protect our citizens and address this issue. 

The Legislature still has not adopted a 2025-26 budget, 7½ months after the start of the fiscal year. (North Carolina is the only state in the U.S. that has failed to adopt an FY2026 budget.) Failing to adopt a budget by the June 30 deadline is more the pattern than the exception. What would you do change this?

Johnson: The North Carolina House has adopted a fantastic budget that continues to cut taxes, while also making significant investments in salary increases for teachers and state employees. It also addresses aging infrastructure that we desperately need replaced and repaired in Western North Carolina. In North Carolina, if we do not have a budget, a continuing resolution funds the government at current levels unlike the federal government, and I am optimistic that after the revenue projections come in April, a budget agreement will be reached with the Sente and governor.  

Hager: During my tenure in the legislature (2011-2016) the continuing resolution did not exist. The lack of a CR forces the chambers to work together to craft a budget and thus pushes the chamber to work together on other issues as well. In an effort to have a budget completed for 2026 I would repeal the option to have a CR, which would guarantee an agreed upon budget

The city of Hendersonville and Henderson County have been in conflict for decades on the topic of water and sewer extensions, growth regulation on the city’s borders (land annexed in order to receive city sewer service). Yet the Legislature scrapped a proposed bill endorsed by the City Council and Board of Commissioners. What role if any do you see the Legislature playing to resolve this conflict.

Hager: It is incumbent on the legislature to step in when a municipality and a county have issues that they may agree upon on the surface but are not healthy for its citizens or not in alignment with state statutes. The legislature has the responsibility to be the last line of protection to its citizens to ensure infrastructure is not rationed by one side and is kept at the lowest cost. In addition, as a volunteer firefighter, I am concerned with the ability of a municipality annexing areas that compromise the ability of a rural volunteer fire department to fund its operations, which doesn’t seem to be taken into adequate consideration by this agreement.

Johnson: No bill is scrapped if we are still in session. As someone who represents the rural parts of Henderson County, it is extremely important that we protect the county from overdevelopment. In the deal that was reached, the county would retain zoning control over any annexed areas to protect from high density zoning in rural areas. If this agreement is not honored or needs adjustment, I am very willing to run the bill in the short session to codify the county’s authority. It is a public safety concern that we should not be giving (fire) calls to Hendersonville if there are rural departments who can respond faster to emergencies. 

Do you think teacher pay is about where it should be at this time or do you think it ought to be higher. If higher, how would you go about achieving that?

Johnson: It should absolutely be higher to keep us competitive with our neighbors and make sure that we are giving our students the best chance to succeed by attracting and retaining the best teachers. In the House budget, we would give a roughly 9 percent average raise and bring starting teacher pay to No. 1 in the Southeast — all while still lowering taxes across the state. 

Hager: Teachers on all educational platforms have a tough job in today’s environment. In many cases they see the children more waking hours than the parents. They are forced to be not only teachers, but sitters and comforters. I believe teachers that have measurable impact on their students should receive higher pay. The higher pay should reflect their effort, expertise and result. This increased pay for measurable impact should be available to tier 1 & 2 counties through an increase in the local supplement (paid by the state) to equal the median local supplement of the tier 3 counties (about $8,000/year).

What specifically are your highest priorities in the Legislature for serving your district?

Hager:

1.   Expand the Homestead Exemption for seniors 65+, making less than $38,000/year from 50% property tax reduction to 100% property tax reduction. This change will result in only a 1.25% reduction in county revenues.

2.   Lower electricity rates, which have increased almost 30% since 2022, by repealing 2021 House Bill 951. House Bill 951 (2021) reestablished the carbon neutral mandate forcing Duke Energy to move away from the small coal peaking stations and into solar energy with battery backup, thus raising electricity prices.

3.   Repeal the continuing resolution mechanism to force a state budget to be written, debated and adopted.

Johnson: Addressing the cost of living and rising prices. This includes making sure we budget responsibly so that the income tax will continue dropping to historically low numbers and people can keep more of their hard-earned money. It also means addressing property tax spikes and making sure that the exemptions we have in place are modified to prevent our most vulnerable populations from losing their homes they have lived in for years. 

What other major priorities do you for your district and the state?

Johnson: Workforce development will continue to be a top priority as it has been my entire time in the legislature. As a state, we have done a fantastic job with economic development. We have lowered taxes and attracted new businesses and encouraged existing businesses to expand. Now, we have to make sure our young people have the skills to fill these emerging opportunities. That means partnering with our community colleges and encouraging apprenticeships to make sure students know they can make a great living without having to have a 4-year degree. 

Hager:

1.   Achieving 25 retirement for law enforcement officers, prison and jail guards.

2.   Developing a level playing field to attract the best and brightest teachers to the most economically disadvantaged counties.

3.   Constraining the ability of municipalities and counties to excessively raise property taxes without the consent of its citizens.