Mecklenburg lawmaker leaves statewide race to run for Congress, setting up GOP primary

State Rep. John Bradford changed his campaign plans Friday, filing to run for Congress in an area near Charlotte.

He told The News & Observer on Friday morning as he filed paperwork that he received a lot of encouragement to run for Congress in the 8th Congressional District and is in the process of setting up his campaign and website.

“It’s really something I’ve always wanted to do,” Bradford said. “And, frankly, Washington is broken. And I think Washington needs more legislators from North Carolina, we’ve done some great things for the state. And I’m highly qualified. And so that’s why I decided to make the change.”

Bradford, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, had been campaigning for state treasurer. On Friday, A.J. Daoud, a former North Carolina lottery commissioner and state party leader who was running for state auditor, told The N&O he would run in the GOP primary for treasurer instead.

The 8th district is made up of Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, Union and parts of Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Robeson counties. It’s an area where residents tend to vote Republican.

“I have a company that does business all across the state,” Bradford said. “I have a huge business constituency across the 8th district. So this just feels right, and I’m excited.”

Four other candidates have already announced their intentions to run there, including Mark Harris, whose campaign in 2018 was accused of election fraud centering on a political operative working in Bladen County. The investigation of those allegations led the state to call a new election in which Harris did not run, and which Rep. Dan Bishop went on to win.

So far only Bradford and Republican veteran and attorney Don Brown have filed in the race.

The 8th district race does not have an incumbent, with Bishop, a Republican from Waxhaw, instead running for attorney general.

Bradford had been one of several potential candidates mentioned to replace Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from Lincoln County who announced Tuesday after 20 years in Congress that he would retire. McHenry’s announcement caught many people by surprise since the 10-term congressman, who recently served as temporary House speaker, had already said he would seek reelection.

McHenry, though, represents an area just north of the one Bradford ended up filing in.