News

Moffitt withdraws bid to be on 11th District ballot

By Bill Moss, Published: August 8, 2026

State Sen. Tim Moffitt, who was among two or three prospects short-listed to become the appointed Republican nominee to replace U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards on the Nov. 3 general election, announced Saturday that he's withdrawing from consideration.

"After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek the Republican nomination for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District," he said in an announcement on X. "My responsibilities to my family and businesses would not allow me to commit to more than a few years in Congress. Western North Carolina deserves a representative who can give the full measure of time required, both day-to-day and over the long-term. Anything less would be unfair to the people of this district."

Moffitt had signaled his interest in the congressional seat on Wednesday afternoon — less than 12 hours after Edwards announced he was dropping his re-election campaign.

"Over the next few days, I'll be talking with leaders and neighbors across the district about my potential candidacy to represent Western NC in Congress," he said then.

On Saturday, he reported his change of heart without elaborating on why.

"I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement I received over the past few days. Your confidence in me has been both humbling and meaningful, and I will not soon forget it," he said. "I remain fully committed to serving the citizens of Senate District 48 and look forward to continuing that work on behalf of the communities I am proud to represent."

Moffitt, a second term state senator, was widely considered to be a logical choice for the congressional nomination but was not the only state legislator. 

State Sen. Ralph Hise of Spruce Pine has seniority over Moffitt in the senior chamber. Also mentioned is state Rep. Karl Gillespie, who, as political consultant Colton Overcash observed this week, is a farmer with deep roots in the far-western corner of the district. "A race between Gillespie and Democratic nominee Jamie Ager would make agriculture less of a dividing line and place greater emphasis on what each candidate proposes to do for the region," Overcash, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, said in a Carolina Journal column.

Adam Smith, whom Edwards vanquished in the March 3 primary, and former Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt also have been mentioned.

Moffitt became the second state senator to withdraw from consideration. Kevin Corbin of Macon County said the challenge of forming a fundraising and campaign team meant that the timing was not right.

“I also have to weigh the fact that I’m a sitting state senator, and if I do this, then I would be removing myself from the ballot and from that position that I was elected to,” he told Carolina Public Press. “I feel a certain responsibility to that.”

While Moffitt had name recognition in both Henderson and Buncombe counties — the two most populous in the 11th District — his appointment would have triggered an urgent time crunch for GOP leaders to make two more 11th hour appointments. Had he been taken off the Senate ballot, state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom was widely considered to have the inside track to replace him. That would leave it up to Henderson County leaders to choose a new nominee for the House District 117 seat. Both Moffitt's 48th Senate district and Balkcom's seat are considered safe Republican holds in the election, which is 12 weeks away on Tuesday.