North Carolina’s Walker rules out 2020 run after redistricting
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) won't seek public office next year, backing off after threatening to primary GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and two members of his own delegation.
He announced his decision Monday, a stunning outcome for the ambitious politician just weeks after court-prompted redistricting turned his reliably Republican seat in north-central North Carolina into safe Democratic territory. Walker, a member of House GOP leadership and former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was first elected to an open seat in 2014.
In the statement, Walker said he would seriously consider running for Senate in 2022, when GOP Sen. Richard Burr is expected to retire after finishing his current term.
“I believe the best way we can continue to serve the people of North Carolina is as a United States senator,” Walker said in the statement. “As I have always sought to have serving people supersede our ambition, I will dedicate my full heart and efforts to finishing my term in Congress. After we have secured more conservative policy and Republican electoral victories for North Carolina, we will take a look at the 2022 Senate race, and we are thankful to have President Trump’s support.”
Walker initially seemed desperate to remain on the ballot in 2020. The three-term congressman flirted with a Senate run for the second time this year, several months after he initially declined to challenge Tillis, a first-term senator in a critical battleground state. Walker first considered a run against Tillis in the spring, but backed off after failing to gain support from Trump.
The president endorsed Tillis over the summer — but Walker began rethinking the Senate race after his district was redrawn, and Tillis’ primary challenger, businessman Garland Tucker, dropped out of the race. Walker met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Trump to discuss the prospect, but neither wavered in their full support for Tillis.
Walker had also publicly floated the idea of challenging two of his GOP colleagues — Ted Budd and Patrick McHenry — whose new districts had absorbed some of his old seat in the Greensboro-area. His campaign polled both districts but realized those options had significant drawbacks.
The Club for Growth quickly signaled its support for Budd and vowed to spend more than $1 million to boost him through a primary. Going up against McHenry, a ranking member on the House Financial Services committee, could anger key donors in the banking industry.
In his statement, Walker suggested he would have the president’s support for his 2022 Senate bid. He will likely face a crowded primary field for the seat that could include Budd, Rep. Mark Meadows, former Gov. Pat McCrory or others seeking the nomination for the open seat.
In a local cable-TV interview Monday evening, Walker said he chose not to primary a fellow Republican or run for lieutenant governor because of his 2022 ambitions.
“I felt like it would be a disservice — or maybe even disingenuine [sic] — to run for another race and maybe even win,” he said, suggesting that the president would have thrown his support behind a 2020 run for a statewide office.
“I always thought that was more self-serving," he added of running in one of newly drawn House districts. "I know some of the other guys are comfortable with that. It was just something that we struggled with personally.”
