News

Highlands man becomes seventh Republican to file for open congressional seat

Ken McKim

By Lightning Reports, Published: December 13, 2021

A 51-year-old Highlands man, calling himself "the most conservative candidate running," became the seventh Republican to announce a campaign for the 14th Congressional District seat that became open when incumbent Madison Cawthorn bolted for the newly drawn 13th Congressional District.

Born and raised in Texas, Ken McKim is the eldest son of 13 children and family values are of great importance to him. McKim has always been a strong leader who remains calm and confident under pressure, and he is admired for his ability to unite diverse personalities towards a common goal while always respecting individual freedoms.
The McKim family relocated to North Carolina in the mid 1990s and Ken felt as if he had returned to the land of his Scots-Irish ancestors.

McKim ran for the Texas State House at the age of 24 and has studied under several notable mentors. He worked as an intern for U.S. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) in Washington DC and as an intern for U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) in Tallahassee. He has also held the positions of election judge, precinct chairman, and vice chairman in county politics. Additionally, he was chosen from a national field of applicants to begin and head-up Paragon Project, a political action committee designed to elect conservatives to office.
Currently, he is the manager of a real estate and development company, he holds both a real estate broker’s and a contractor’s license and enjoys remodeling and selling houses. He is a member, elder and Bible study teacher at Community Bible Church in Highlands.

McKim said he "is running on a platform of true conservatism, seeing that our nation’s founding documents and laws are adhered to, protecting individual liberties, controlling government spending and lowering taxes."

Also running for the Republican nomination for the seat are state Sen. Chuck Edwards, Navy veteran Wendy Nevarez, retired Army Col. Rod Honeycutt, Pisgah Inn owner Bruce O’Connell, Republican Party activist Michele Woodhouse and Matthew Burril, a retired financial adviser who is the current chair of the Asheville Regional Airport Authority.