2019 North Carolina's 3rd congressional district special election
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
North Carolina's 3rd congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
 Results by county Murphy: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Thomas: 50-60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Elections in North Carolina |
|---|
 |
A special election was held on September 10, 2019 to fill the vacancy in North Carolina's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 116th United States Congress. Walter B. Jones Jr., the incumbent representative, died on February 10, 2019.[1]
Parties held primaries to decide their nominees. In order to win a party nomination outright, under current state law, a candidate must exceed 30% of the vote to avoid a runoff (presuming that the second-place finisher calls for that runoff). There must be 30 days of absentee voting prior to each election, according to state law.[2] Filing began on March 4 and ended March 8, as set by Governor Roy Cooper. Twenty-six candidates filed with the State Board of Elections by the filing deadline: 17 Republicans, 6 Democrats, 2 Libertarians, and 1 Constitution Party candidate.[3] All candidates filed are affiliated with a political party.[4] Five candidates advanced after the first primary elections: two Republicans, one Democrat, one Libertarian, and one Constitution Party candidate.
Cooper set the primary date of April 30, in which the Democrats selected Allen M. Thomas, Libertarians selected Tim Harris, and in the Constitution Party primary businessman Greg Holt won by default, but no Republican achieved 30% of the vote. Voting for the Republican primary runoff occurred on Tuesday, July 9, between two candidates that are both physicians, Greg Murphy and Joan Perry.[5] Approximately 70 minutes after polls closed, Murphy was declared the winner by the Associated Press.
The general election was held on September 10, 2019. Murphy won the seat.[6][7]
With the decision by the State Board of Elections to hold a new election to redo the 2018 U.S. House election in North Carolina's 9th district, this became one of two congressional district special elections in North Carolina in 2019, the other being the 9th district's special election held on the same day. This was the first time two U.S. House special elections were held in the same state on the same day (not on Election Day) since the May 3, 2008, elections in Louisiana's 1st district and 6th district.[8]
Republican primary[]
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
Eliminated in runoff[]
- Joan Perry, pediatrician[11]
Eliminated in primary[]
- Kevin Baiko, doctor[11]
- Paul Beaumont, Currituck County Commissioner[11]
- Graham Boyd, farmer[12]
- Celeste Cairns, accountant[11]
- Gary Ceres, library technician[12]
- Chimer Davis Clark Jr., small businessman[12]
- Don Cox, singer[13]
- Francis De Luca, former president of Civitas Institute[13]
- Phil Law, Marine Corps veteran and candidate for U.S. Representative in 2016 and 2018[14][15]
- Jeff Moore, small businessman[16]
- Michele Nix, Vice Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party[17][18]
- Mike Payment, Currituck County Commissioner[13]
- Eric Rouse, Lenoir County Commissioner[13]
- Phil Shepard, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 15th district[14]
- Michael Speciale, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 3rd district[14]
Declined[]
- Harry Brown, member of the North Carolina Senate from the 6th District and incumbent North Carolina Senate Majority Leader[9][19]
- George G. Cleveland, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 14th District[20]
- Scott Dacey, former Vice-Chairman of the Craven County Board of Commissioners and candidate for U.S. Representative in 2018[17]
- Pete Gilbert, Pasquotank County Republican Party Chairman[21]
- Ed Goodwin, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 1st District[21]
- Taylor Griffin, former aide to Jesse Helms and candidate for U.S. Representative in 2014 and 2016[17]
- Bobby Hanig, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 6th District[22]
- Chris Humphrey, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 12th District[20]
- Keith Kidwell, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 79th District[20]
- Pat McElraft, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 13th District[20]
- Joe McLaughlin, former Onslow County Commissioner, candidate for U.S. Representative in 2008, candidate for North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in 2016, and candidate for State Representative in 2018[20]
- Carl Mischka, chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Party Executive Committee[17]
- Frank Palombo, candidate for U.S. Representative in 2012[20]
- Norman W. Sanderson, member of the North Carolina Senate from the 2nd district[20]
- Sandy Smith, small businesswoman[23]
- Bob Steinburg, member of the North Carolina Senate from the 1st District[21]
- Paul Wright, Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Area 5 Dare County[24]
Endorsements[]
Jeff Moore
- Politicians
- Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky[25]
Greg Murphy
Joan Perry
- Organizations
- Susan B. Anthony List[31]
- Winning for Women[32]
- FreedomWorks[33]
- Maggie's List[34]
- Politicians
First round[]
Polling[]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Celeste Cairns |
Phil Law |
Jeff Moore |
Greg Murphy |
Joan Perry |
Eric Rouse |
Phil Shepard |
Michael Speciale |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Media & Research (R)[A] | April 24–27, 2019 | 253 | ± 6.1% | 2% | 3% | 6% | 14% | 9% | 4% | 7% | 6% | 5%[a] | 44% |
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Murphy | 9,530 | 22.51 | |
| Republican | Joan Perry | 6,536 | 15.44 | |
| Republican | Phil Shepard | 5,101 | 12.05 | |
| Republican | Michael Speciale | 4,022 | 9.50 | |
| Republican | Phil Law | 3,690 | 8.72 | |
| Republican | Eric Rouse | 3,258 | 7.70 | |
| Republican | Jeff Moore | 2,280 | 5.39 | |
| Republican | Francis De Luca | 1,670 | 3.95 | |
| Republican | Celeste Cairns | 1,467 | 3.47 | |
| Republican | Chimer Davis Clark Jr. | 1,092 | 2.58 | |
| Republican | Michele Nix | 915 | 2.16 | |
| Republican | Graham Boyd | 897 | 2.12 | |
| Republican | Paul Beaumont | 805 | 1.90 | |
| Republican | Mike Payment | 537 | 1.27 | |
| Republican | Don Cox | 251 | 0.59 | |
| Republican | Kevin Baiko | 171 | 0.40 | |
| Republican | Gary Ceres | 108 | 0.26 | |
| Total votes | 42,330 | 100.0 | ||
Runoff[]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Murphy | 21,444 | 59.7 | |
| Republican | Joan Perry | 14,472 | 40.3 | |
| Total votes | 35,916 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary[]
Candidates[]
Nominee[]
- Allen Thomas, former mayor of Greenville and executive director of Global TransPark[39]
Eliminated[]
- Richard Bew, former U.S. Marine Corps colonel[40][41]
- Gregory Humphrey, former journalist[11]
- Ike Johnson, Democratic nominee for State House district 14 in 2018[42]
- Dana Outlaw, mayor of New Bern[43]
- Ernest T. Reeves, Democratic nominee for North Carolina's 3rd congressional district in 2016[11]
Declined[]
- Ollie Nelson, retired U.S. Marine, educator, and pastor[23]
- George Parrott, businessman[44]
- Scott Thomas, District Attorney for North Carolina's 4th prosecutorial district[45]
Endorsements[]
Richard Bew
Allen Thomas
- Politicians
- G.K. Butterfield, U.S. Representative (D-NC)[51]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Allen Thomas | 12,933 | 49.96 | |
| Democratic | Richard Bew | 6,532 | 25.23 | |
| Democratic | Dana Outlaw | 3,268 | 12.63 | |
| Democratic | Ike Johnson | 1,774 | 6.85 | |
| Democratic | Gregory Humphrey | 695 | 2.68 | |
| Democratic | Ernest T. Reeves | 683 | 2.64 | |
| Total votes | 25,885 | 100.0 | ||
Libertarian primary[]
Candidates[]
Declared[]
- Shannon Bray, U.S. Navy veteran, author, cybersecurity expert[52]
- Tim Harris, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, IT engineer, candidate for North Carolina Senate for the 2nd district in 2018[53]
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libertarian | Tim Harris | 75 | 55.97 | |
| Libertarian | Shannon Bray | 59 | 44.03 | |
| Total votes | 134 | 100.0 | ||
Constitution primary[]
Candidates[]
Nominee (by default)[]
- Greg Holt, businessman[12]
General election[]
During the early voting period for this election, Hurricane Dorian battered the eastern coast of the United States, necessitating early voting to be halted in several counties on the Outer Banks until the storm had passed. This also happened in the election for North Carolina's 9th congressional district.
Predictions[]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[54] | Safe R | August 26, 2019 |
| Inside Elections[55] | Safe R | September 4, 2019 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[56] | Likely R | September 5, 2019 |
Endorsements[]
Greg Murphy (R)
Allen Thomas (D)
- Federal politicians
- Alma Adams, U.S. Representative (D-NC)[65]
- G. K. Butterfield, U.S. Representative (D-NC)[51]
- Bob Etheridge, former U.S. Representative (D-NC)[66]
- Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development[67]
- Statewide, and local politicians
- Toby Fitch, State Senator[66]
- Jim Hunt, former Governor of North Carolina[68]
- Erica D. Smith, State Senator[69]
- Organizations
Polling[]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Greg Murphy (R) |
Allen Thomas (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAJ Solutions (R)[B] | August 26–28, 2019 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 51% | 40% | 3%[b] | 6% |
Hypothetical polling
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fundraising[]
| Campaign finance reports as of August 21, 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate (party) | Total receipts | Total disbursements | Cash on hand |
| Greg Murphy (R) | $901,590.47 | $803,487.06 | $98,103.41 |
| Allen Thomas (D) | $564,575.49 | $476,025.52 | $88,549.97 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[72] | |||
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Murphy | 70,407 | 61.74 | -38.26 | |
| Democratic | Allen Thomas | 42,738 | 37.47 | N/A | |
| Constitution | Greg Holt | 507 | 0.44 | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Tim Harris | 394 | 0.35 | N/A | |
| Total votes | '114,046' | '100' | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
Despite the clear victory, 61.7% is the lowest Republican vote share in this district since 2012.
See also[]
- List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
Notes[]
- Partisan clients
- Additional candidates
References[]
- ^ Bolton, Alexander (February 10, 2019). "Rep. Walter Jones, GOP rebel and Iraq War critic, dies at age 76". The Hill. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Murphy, Brian (February 11, 2019). "Gov. Cooper to set dates for a special election to replace Walter Jones in Congress". McClatchy. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2019/District3Candidates.pdf
- ^ "NC State Board of Elections: Petitions in NC". Ncsbe.gov. October 17, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ "Who is winning NC 3rd District special election race? | Raleigh News & Observer". Archived from the original on May 1, 2019.
- ^ "3rd Congressional District special election filing begins next week". The Daily Standard. February 27, 2019. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ Roll Call: Republican Greg Murphy wins special election in North Carolina’s 3rd District
- ^ Ostermeier, Eric (September 10, 2019). "Two for the price of one". Smart Politics. Archived from the original on September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Pathe, Simone (February 11, 2019). "There's at least one special election coming to North Carolina soon". Roll Call. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Boyum, Tim (February 25, 2019). "NEW: NC Rep. Greg Murphy (R) will announce a run for #NC03 and Walter Jones seat with 5 city Eastern NC kickoff today. #ncpol #ncga". @TimBoyumTV. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "CANDIDATE DETAIL LIST" (PDF).
- ^ a b c d Pippin, Jannette (March 6, 2019). "Field of Republicans packed in race for Congressional seat". Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "North Carolina Board of Elections Filing" (PDF).
- ^ a b c Pippin, Jannette (February 18, 2019). "Candidates begin announcing run for Jones seat". Jacksonville Daily News. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
- ^ JDNews. "Meet Phil Law: U.S. House of Representatives District 3 candidate". JDNews.com. Jackson, NC-Daily News. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Jason, Boy (February 25, 2019). "Two more join field to fill Walter Jones' spot in Congress". Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Way, Dan (February 11, 2019). "Large field of contenders expected to try to succeed Jones in 3rd District". Carolina Journal. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ^ Specht, Paul A. (February 18, 2019). "He's known for secession bill and attacking Obama as 'Islamic.' He wants a seat in Congress". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Pippin, Jannette (March 4, 2019). "UPDATE: 6 file to run for Congressional seat". Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g "NC-3: Rep. Walter Jones (R) Officially Retiring in 2020". RRH Elections. January 2, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Hawley, Jon (February 3, 2019). "Special election would be needed to fill Jones' seat". Greenville Daily Reflector. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Hawley, Jon (February 3, 2019). "GOP defers to Jones on resignation". Elizabeth City Daily Advance. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ a b Pippin, Jannette (February 25, 2019). "Candidates line up to run for vacant Congressional seat". Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ "U.S. Rep. Jones enters hospice care". Greenville Daily Reflector. January 26, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ "In Rare Endorsement, Trump Ally Rand Paul Taps Jeff Moore for Congress". March 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "'Women for Trump' endorse Murphy". The Daily Reflector. May 9, 2019.
- ^ Dr. Greg Murphy. "Greg Murphy on Twitter". Twitter.
- ^ Rick Santorum. "Rick Santorum on Twitter". Twitter.
- ^ a b Murphy, Brian (May 1, 2019). "Greg Murphy picks up a key endorsement ahead of GOP runoff for Congress". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
- ^ Dr. Greg Murphy. "Greg Murphy on Twitter". Twitter.
- ^ "We are proud to endorse @DrJoanPerry, a principled #ProLife, pro-woman leader for #NC03. As a mom of five and a pediatrician, unborn children and their mothers could not have a stronger champion than Joan standing up to the abortion lobby". @SBAList. Twitter. March 28, 2019.
- ^ "We said we'd support qualified #GOPwomen in primary elections, and today we announced our first endorsement.@drjoanperry is a pediatrician and political outsider who will be a strong voice for #NC03". @WinningForWomen. Twitter. April 22, 2019.
- ^ "FreedomWorks for America Endorses Joan Perry in North Carolina's Third Congressional District". freedomworksforamerica.org. May 7, 2019. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Joan Perry. "I am honored to receive the endorsement from @maggieslist1, the country's leading organization specifically focused on electing CONSERVATIVE women to federal office. "Congress needs more conservative Republican women like Dr. Joan Perry," state's Maggie's List NC Chair. #NC03". Twitter.
- ^ Talk of the Town. "@RepLizCheney announced her endorsement for @drjoanperry for NC's 3rd Congressional District on this morning's Talk of the Town". Twitter.
- ^ Joan Perry. "So thankful I was able to spend this evening with Congressman @RepHolding! Congressman Holding has been an outstanding Conservative voice for the 2nd Congressional District of NC. I've very honored & humbled of his endorsement of my candidacy to Congress! #NC03 #NCpol". Twitter.
- ^ Perry, Joan (March 28, 2019). "I'm blown away by the support of my good friend, Paul "Skip" Stam, who served as NC House Speaker Pro Tem. For decades, he's worked as hard as anyone to build the Republican Party in North Carolina. Read why he's supporting my campaign: #NC03 #NCpol". @drjoanperry. Twitter.
- ^ Elise Stefanik. "Proud to endorse @drjoanperry in #NC03. #EPAC will be maxing out to her campaign in the run off as the strongest candidate to represent her community in Congress. Thx to allies @WinningForWomen & @SBAList for stepping up to support strong, qualified, & exceptional #GOPWomen.