BOONE, N.C. (WGHP) – U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, who has represented North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District since 2005, isn’t going to wait for the start of the state convention or even those pesky district lines: Foxx, 79, announced she wants to serve a 10th term in Washington.
Foxx, one of the six Republicans due in Greensboro this weekend for the NC GOP Convention, on Thursday afternoon, announced she would seek re-election in 2024.
“In the first months of the new conservative majority in the House, we’ve demonstrated why America desperately needs leadership that is committed to our founding principles of limited government and individual liberty,” Foxx said in her announcement. “With each passing week, it is painfully obvious that the Biden administration is stuck in a destructive cycle of expanding the reach and power of the federal government over every area of the lives of hardworking Americans.
“I’m running for reelection to reinvigorate our traditions of self-government and self-reliance, to put a stop to the left’s big government agenda, and place America back on the path of a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.”
Also scheduled to join Foxx today through Sunday at the Koury Convention Center are three candidates for president, a U.S. Senator and three candidates for governor. Five of her colleagues – 3rd District Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Greenville), 7th District Rep. David Rouzer (R-Wilmington), 8th District Rep. Dan Bishop (R-Charlotte), 9th District Rep. Richard Hudson (R-Southern Pines)and 11th District Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Flat Rock) – have said they will attend. Only 10th District Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-Statesville) is missing.
Although Bishop, a Freedom Caucus dynamo, has been said to be considering leaving Congress to run for state attorney general, Foxx is in the first of 14 representing the state in the House to announce a plan to continue.
Redistricting coming
Most would appear to be waiting to see what the North Carolina General Assembly will do with congressional maps, given the carte blanche they were granted to draw new districts by the NC Supreme Court’s reversal in April.
The court, now controlled by a 5-2 Republican majority, rolled back decisions made last year when most justices found the electoral maps legislators had provided were unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.
The new court said the constitution doesn’t address partisan gerrymandering and that lawmakers could draw districts pretty much however they want within the purview of federal requirements. Lawmakers have suggested they will do so later this summer.
Because the General Assembly is controlled by Republican supermajorities and the governor has no veto oversight for redistricting, Democrats have been bracing for a change in the 7-7 partisan split currently serving in Congress, perhaps with a 10-4 or 11-3 GOP control.
Foxx’s 5th District covers 12 mostly northern border counties, including most of Forsyth County and all of Alleghany, Davie, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties in the Piedmont Triad.
She earned 63.4% of nearly 275,000 votes cast in defeating Democrat Kyle Parrish in 2022.
Lines could change
But if you recall the original maps drawn by the General Assembly in the fall of 2021 had Foxx’s home in Banner Elk “bubbled” into a district where 6th District Rep. Kathy Manning (D-Greensboro) also resided, and Republican aspirant Bo Hines, then a resident of Winston-Salem, had filed to run against her.
The current map actually made her path to Congress less encumbered than the lawmakers’ map would have. After the court oversaw the drawing of new maps, Manning also won easy re-election, and Hines lost to Democrat Wiley Nickel in the 13th District as the parties equally split the seats.
Consistent conservative
Foxx was an educator and business owner before easily beating Jim A. Harrell Jr. to win her seat on Nov. 2, 2004. That 58.83% was among the lowest she has posted since.
Seen as a reliable conservative voice, she is chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for which she serves on two subcommittees, and is a member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for which she also serves on two subcommittees. Her only yea votes in 2021-22 were for defense spending bills.
Her announcement invokes the ill-defined conservative political term “woke” and staples such as “socialist policies” and “class warfare,” and she holds President Joe Biden responsible for “runaway inflation” and “porous borders.” She also mentioned support for former President Donald Trump’s policies.
“North Carolina voters are looking for solutions that work,” she said. “My plan is to build on my proven track record of conservative problem-solving on behalf of my constituents. … I know we can tackle our problems and fix them if we turn our backs on failed socialist ideas and instead embrace the time-bested solutions rooted in liberty and limited government.”
