Trump-endorsed Addison McDowell gets most votes in NC’s 6th District. He hasn’t won yet

Trump-endorsed Addison McDowell won the most votes in Tuesday night’s 6th Congressional District Republican primary, but he’s likely heading to a runoff against former Rep. Mark Walker.

“All the so-called experts said I had no shot, but I had faith in the voters and it looks like they thought differently than the experts,” McDowell said in a written statement Tuesday night. “I owe a big thank you to President Donald J. Trump. President Trump endorsed me because he knows securing our southern border is very important to me.”

Six Republicans ran in the 6th Congressional District, which contains Davie, Davidson, Rowan and parts of Cabarrus, Guilford and Forsyth counties. McDowell led with 26% of the votes with all 195 precincts reporting.

But that’s not enough to prevent a runoff, which requires a candidate capture more than 30% of the vote. That means that the second place finisher, former Rep. Mark Walker, could request a runoff to be held on May 14.

Walker told McClatchy Tuesday night he would ask for a runoff — and a debate.

“This will be the Triad pastor against the bought lobbyist,” Walker said, noting McDowell’s resume as a former lobbyist for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and North Carolina League of Municipalities.

He thanked those who voted for him, acknowledging that 90% of the district is new, compared to what he represented during his three terms in office. And he said getting out to engage voters really made a difference.

A runoff for Walker could be history repeating itself.

In 2014, during Walker’s first election, he came in second place in the Republican primary to now-Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. But Walker asked for a runoff election and pulled out a win, going on to represent the 6th District until 2020.

“I am honored the voters of the 6th District have put me into this runoff and I’m going to keep working hard to win this thing on May 14,” McDowell said.

Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from Greensboro, currently holds the seat. But she chose not to seek reelection after the Republican-controlled General Assembly, redrew the 14 congressional districts to favor their party.

Manning’s district was among four held by Democrats, redrawn to give Republicans a viable path toward victory.

No Democrat stepped up to run in the 6th district, meaning the winner of the Republican primary will be the seat’s next representative.

The race

The redrawn map and lack of an incumbent in the race drew big names and big personalities to run.

Many believed that Hines, a 28-year-old, former N.C. State football star who left the sport to study politics at Yale University, would secure an endorsement in the race from former President Donald Trump. Trump had hinted as much in a speech in early December.

So it shocked everyone when Trump announced his endorsement would go to McDowell, a virtual unknown in North Carolina politics and someone who kept his candidacy a secret until Trump’s announcement.

“President Trump endorsed me because he knows securing our southern border is very important to me,” McDowell said. “We lost my little brother Luke to fentanyl likely smuggled across the Southern border and I want to shut down that pipeline so other families don’t suffer a similar tragedy.”

An endorsement from Trump for McDowell meant another snub from Trump for Walker, who represented the 6th district for three terms from 2015 until Republicans lawmakers redrew to take over his district for a Democrat in 2020. Many saw that as an attempt to avenge Walker for winning his election in 2014 against Berger, the son and namesake of the state’s Senate leader.

In 2022, Walker ran for U.S. Senate, but lost to Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County. This cycle, he initially attempted a run for governor, but after seeing the overwhelming support Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, had in the gubernatorial race, Walker set his sights back on reclaiming his old district.

And despite making the 6th District viable for a Republican, lawmakers drew Walker’s house outside the district boundary. It’s not a requirement for a candidate to live inside their district, and many running in the 6th did not when the race began.

Former High Point Mayor Jay Wagner and plastic surgeon Mary Ann Contogiannis also ran.

The controversies

The race featured a series of missteps over the past few weeks — particularly the campaigns of Walker and Castelli.

Walker lost endorsements from Republicans like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Matt Gaetz.

But he wasn’t alone.

His opponent, Castelli, drew ire from Robinson after a super PAC in Greensboro falsely claimed Castelli earned Robinson’s endorsement in the 2024 cycle and the family of NASCAR legend and Republican donor Richard Petty also released a statement saying that Petty was not endorsing Castelli, despite the campaign’s claims otherwise.

Castelli’s campaign drew further controversy after a video Mark Walker posted, resurfaced with poorly dubbed over audio, twice, attempting to make it look like Walker was talking to a friend about why he shouldn’t be in Congress and that Castelli was better than him. Walker’s campaign said they were considering all legal recourse.

McDowell’s campaign advisor Jonathan Felts also noted Tuesday night that Walker spent his primary campaign trashing both Trump and Robinson, who both just secured the Republican nominations in their campaigns. Felts said he believes that could hurt Walker in a runoff against McDowell.

“Walker is wildly out of step with Republican voters,” Felts said.

Walker said a runoff narrows the playing field after super PAC Club for Growth spent over $1 million in attacks against him on behalf of Hines and the numerous other controversies he faced during the election.