North Carolina state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom has won the Republican nomination for the state’s 11th Congressional District, setting up a general election contest against Democrat Jamie Ager after incumbent Rep. Chuck Edwards ended his reelection campaign amid a House Ethics Committee investigation.
Balkcom was selected Monday evening by the 11th Congressional District Republican Executive Committee, a group of local Republican Party members that includes county party leaders. Republicans were tasked with choosing a new nominee after Edwards withdrew from the race last week.
The National Republican Congressional Committee congratulated Balkcom following her selection, saying she would “deliver results for Western North Carolina by strengthening the economy, supporting farmers & securing the border.”
Balkcom, who currently serves in the North Carolina State House, announced before her selection that she was seeking the nomination after receiving encouragement to run.
“For eight generations, my family has called Western North Carolina home,” Balkcom said in a statement. “My roots run deep in these mountains, and the people, values, and way of life here are woven into every part of who I am.”
Balkcom said she had not originally planned to go to Washington but ultimately decided to enter the race.
“Our communities are still rebuilding from Hurricane Helene,” she said. “Our farmers, families, and small businesses need someone who understands them. And too often, Washington simply doesn’t understand the people, values, and challenges of our mountains.”
She said Republicans need to hold the seat, continue working with President Donald Trump’s administration on rebuilding Western North Carolina, and ensure that Washington does not forget the residents of the region.
Balkcom described herself as a “Henderson County farm girl” and said those roots are why she fights so hard for Western North Carolina.
“Western North Carolina is worth fighting for, and I’m ready to get to work,” Balkcom said.
She will face Ager in a district Trump carried by ten points in 2024. Former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg endorsed Ager and traveled to the district to campaign with him. Ager is also endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
RNC Research highlighted Ager saying that “immigration has benefitted this country in so many ways,” adding that for people who “have been here for 20 years” and still lack legal status, policymakers should look at “finding some way for pathway to citizenship for those folks.”
Edwards announced August 5 that he was ending his reelection campaign following the House Ethics Committee investigation while finishing his current term, writing, “After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign.” The committee said it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or propositioned staffers but identified a “pattern of behavior” that could reasonably be interpreted that way, including lavish and recurring gifts, comments about young female employees’ appearance and clothing, and invitations to dinners and vacations. Edwards denied wrongdoing and disagreed with the findings.
According to an Axios report, Edwards gave two young female staffers personalized handguns, including a blue gun engraved with one employee’s name and a pink gun given to another, whose lawyer said she accepted it out of fear of employment repercussions before later legally disposing of it. Edwards defended the gifts, citing his firearms experience.
Axios also reported that he arranged a surprise performance of one staffer’s favorite Ed Sheeran songs at her birthday party, gave employees personal gifts including jewelry, a custom Adam Sandler puzzle, and a purse, held frequent one-on-one dinners with aides, complimented their appearance, and wrote one departing staffer a three-page letter calling her “the most amazing woman” and saying she had “written a complex chapter in my heart.” The outlet further reported that Edwards and a former staffer vacationed in Las Vegas months after she left his office and that his office had a 59 percent staff turnover rate in 2025, compared with a 27 percent House average.
NOTUS separately reported that the Ethics Committee was examining allegations that Edwards had an affair with a former deputy chief of staff whom he first hired while serving as a state senator in 2021, with sources saying the alleged relationship became widely known among staff and members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and contributed to internal tensions and departures. Edwards welcomed the investigation while arguing that people with political agendas were using “false accusations” to generate news coverage. He was first elected to Congress in 2022 after defeating then-Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary and previously served in the North Carolina General Assembly.