The Power of Bill Graham's Candidacy for Governor

 

Mark Walker, suddenly running
for Congress

I wrote on October 18 "Fear of Mark Robinson Spawns a New Competitor" about Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham jumping into the Republican primary for governor. I suggested that he seemed to have some powerful king-makers pushing his candidacy, so it comes as no surprise that Graham has already scrambled the field. Just today comes news that former Congressman and until today candidate for governor Mark Walker is dropping out of that race to run again for his old 6th District congressional seat. I think Bill Graham probably caused him to reevaluate his options.

Hannah Schoenbaum, for the AP:

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Just after the North Carolina General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a new congressional map favoring Republicans, a former congressman announced he is dropping out of the Republican primary for governor to try to win back his seat in the U.S. House.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a former Baptist pastor from Greensboro, launched a bid Wednesday to reclaim the district he had represented on Capitol Hill for six years. He held the seat until a previous redistricting cycle opened the door for Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning to take office.

“I didn’t really leave voluntarily,” Walker said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Now that the General Assembly has restored the 6th District to how it’s historically been represented, which is conservative Republican, it felt like this was the right time to reengage with everything going on in the country.”