Trump backs Davidson County native for Congress

DAVIDSON COUNTY — Former President Donald Trump endorsed a health insurance industry lobbyist who is a native of Davidson County on Wednesday for the central North Carolina congressional district that includes High Point, choosing him before the candidate had publicly unveiled his bid.

Trump said on his Truth Social account that he was backing Republican Addison McDowell in the 6th District, writing that if elected McDowell will "work hard to Secure the Border, Defend the Second Amendment, Lower your Taxes, Grow our Economy, and Strengthen the Military."

McDowell highlighted the endorsement when he put out his own release minutes later to announce that he was running. McDowell visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida to meet with the ex-president on Tuesday, campaign adviser Jonathan Felts said.

McDowell had not filed his candidacy papers as of late Wednesday. Felts said that McDowell will file at the State Board of Elections before the candidacy filing period ends at noon Friday. McDowell filed other paperwork with federal election officials on Tuesday.

McDowell, a registered lobbyist for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, previously worked for GOP Rep. Richard Hudson's campaign and as a district staffer for then-Rep. Ted Budd, who is now a U.S. senator for North Carolina.

State Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson, said Thursday that he has known McDowell for about six years in GOP political circles.

"He's a genuine young man and works well with people," Jarvis said.

Like others in GOP politics, Jarvis said he was surprised to hear that McDowell was running for Congress and had gained the endorsement of Trump.

Trump chose McDowell over other Republican candidates, at least four of whom have already filed candidacy papers to get on the March 5 primary ballot, including Bo Hines, whom Trump had endorsed for the 13th District seat in eastern North Carolina in 2022. Hines narrowly lost in the general election to Democrat Wiley Nickel.

Also in the 6th District GOP field are former High Point Mayor Jay Wagoner, who chose to run for Congress rather than run for reelection last month; Christian Castelli, who was the Republican nominee in the 6th in 2022; and former Rep. Mark Walker, who represented the 6th District for six years through 2020. Walker ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2022, losing to the Trump-endorsed Budd.

Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, who has represented the 6th District since after the 2020 election, said last week she wouldn't seek reelection in 2024 because redistricting enacted by the state legislature this past fall slanted the district strongly toward Republicans.

The district that Manning ran in and won comfortably in 2022 covered Guilford, Rockingham and Caswell counties and southeastern Forsyth County. But the redrawn district is a Republican-friendly district that covers High Point and southwestern Guilford County, western Greensboro, eastern Forsyth County, all of Davidson, Davie and Rowan counties and the western tip of Cabarrus County.

No Democrat has filed for the nomination in the reconfigured district, which includes parts of Greensboro, Salisbury and Concord, among other communities. The filing period ends at noon Friday.