His House district was made a Democratic one. Here’s what’s next for Mark Walker
Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, whose Greensboro-area district was redrawn into a heavily Democratic seat, will not run for office in 2020, but is “moving toward” a U.S. Senate bid in 2022, he told McClatchy on Monday.
The filing deadline in North Carolina is Dec. 20.
After North Carolina state lawmakers redrew the state’s congressional districts last month, Walker considered running in a several different districts in the western part of the state, all of which would have created a contested primary against a sitting Republican representative. He said he thought about a primary challenge to Sen. Thom Tillis in 2020 or a bid for the open lieutenant governor post.
But with the March 3 primary less than three months away, Walker — a member of the GOP leadership team in the U.S. House — opted not to run for any office.
“The time was a huge factor against us,” said Walker, a former Baptist pastor now in his third term in Congress.
Walker, 50, met with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney last week at the White House to discuss his future options. Walker said he never asked the president to support a bid against Tillis.
Politico reported that Trump told Walker he’d support him in 2022 Senate campaign or in a run for lieutenant governor. Walker said that he did not ask Trump to rescind his endorsement of Tillis made earlier this year.
“If I can quote this verbatim, I asked, ‘Mr. President, if we run for another position would you support us?’” Walker said.
“Anything,” Trump said, according to Walker.
“I got a lot of strong support to start moving toward U.S. Senate in 2022,” Walker told McClatchy.
Walker said he did not want to run for lieutenant governor, only to turn around three or four months into his tenure to run for Senate.
Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, currently holds the Senate seat. Burr said during the 2016 elections that he would not run for re-election or any other office in 2022. Burr announced last year that he would donate his congressional papers to Wake Forest University, his alma mater.
The open seat could attract a large field of Republicans and Democrats, especially as it is happening in the middle of some North Carolina officeholders’ terms.
“Am I grateful that the president says, ‘You’re our guy in U.S. Senate 2022?’ Of course, I am,” said Walker, who is one of about 20 state chairmen for Trump’s re-election bid in North Carolina.
McClatchy reached out to the White House to confirm details of the meeting. The White House declined comment.
Rep. George Holding, a Raleigh Republican, also decided not to run for elected office in 2020 after his district was redrawn under the new maps. He, too, said he is considering a 2022 Senate run or a possible House run under new districts that will be drawn after the Census.
Changing 6th district
Walker’s current district changed dramatically in the latest round of redistricting. State lawmakers redrew and approved the congressional districts in November after a three-judge panel suggested it was inclined to toss the current districts due to partisan gerrymandering.
The new map was approved by the court and will be in effect for 2020.
Walker’s current district includes parts or all of Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Lee, Person, Randolph and Rockingham counties. The district line splits the campus of North Carolina A&T, the nation’s largest historically black university. He won re-election in 2018 with more than 56% of the vote.
The new 6th district includes all of Guilford County and part of Forsyth County.
Former Democratic congressional nominees Kathy Manning and Bruce Davis have filed to run in the 6th District, as have state Rep. Derwin Montgomery and Rhonda Foxx, former chief of staff for Rep. Alma Adams. GOP party official Lee Haywood and first-time candidate Laura Pichardo have filed to run in the Republican primary.
Tillis’ top challenger for the Republican nomination dropped out of the race. Garland Tucker opted not to officially file after spending more than $1.5 million of his own money in a challenge throughout 2019. Ayden farmer Sandy Smith is also challenging Tillis, but she has so far not filed with the state. Walker said he would work to help Tillis and keep the seat in Republican control.
The state’s open lieutenant governor position has attracted a dozen candidates from the two major parties already. Current Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is running for governor. Walker is backing Forest.
Walker’s issues
Walker has been an ally of Trump’s while in Congress, voting with the president more than 93% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. A former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Walker said his work with Pence to run initial meetings on the GOP attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act was among his highlights in the House.
Walker also championed efforts on criminal justice reform, including the 2018 First Step Act. He’s also been an advocate for HBCUs and encouraged the Republican Party to do more to reach out to African-American voters, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic.
“I believe the Republican Party needs to continue to grow,” said Walker, who cited walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in March with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, as another of his top memories from his time in the House.
Walker has been a harsh critic of the NCAA, pushing legislation that would allow college athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness. Walker’s efforts have garnered attention as a potential national solution to an issue that is cropping up in dozens of states, including California, which passed the first law on the issue.
Walker was also caught up in the case surrounding the 2019 indictment of campaign donor Greg Lindberg, a Durham businessman who donated more than $200,000 to Walker and groups supporting him. Walker was not charged in the federal indictment.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 7:00 PM with the headline "His House district was made a Democratic one. Here’s what’s next for Mark Walker."
