North Carolina Republicans on Tuesday chose state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards on the ballot in November. Edwards dropped his reelection bid last week when the House Ethics Committee recommended censure.
Balkcom will face Democrat Jamie Ager in the fall. Ager won the primary in March, and although the district has not elected a Democrat since 2010, the party believes the rural, western North Carolina district could be competitive.
According to the North Carolina GOP, Balkcom won a competitive three-way primary in 2022 for her seat and is a lifelong resident of the district.
The change to the ballot comes less than 90 days before Election Day.
Edwards abandoned his reelection bid days after the House Ethics Committee recommended censure. It had concluded there is “substantial reason to believe” he violated House rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces.
The report said he “violated the House Code of Official Conduct by failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers.” It said it found that Edwards engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”
Edwards has denied any wrongdoing, which was also noted by the Ethics Committee report.
A statement on behalf of the Edwards campaign said the findings “completely exonerate Representative Edwards under the House rules governing sexual misconduct or harassment.”
“They concluded that he neither engaged in sexual activity with nor explicitly propositioned any individual staff member. They concluded that the allegations in this matter do not implicate quid pro quo sexual harassment. They concluded he did not violate federal sexual harassment law,” the statement said, adding that Edwards “looks forward to having his name cleared.”
The allegations against Edwards come months after former Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee announced last week that it would investigate Rep. Max Miller, who is accused of domestic abuse and possible drug use. Miller had denied the domestic abuse allegations and said he had a prescription for drugs. The deadline for Republicans to replace him on the ballot has passed, and Miller has insisted he is staying in the race.
