NC member of Congress announces where he’ll run, a day after floating other options
U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop announced on social media Wednesday that he may not seek reelection after reviewing a new congressional map, but reversed course just a day later and declared where he would run.
“Activist judges have subverted our constitution,” Bishop said in a written statement posted to his Twitter account Wednesday. “I am weighing whether to run in the court-imposed 8th or 9th district. But I am also actively exploring running for state-wide judicial office — in 2022 we will restore constitutional government in North Carolina.”
That exploration lasted only until Thursday, when Bishop announced he would run in the 8th Congressional District.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson announced he would run in the neighboring 9th Congressional District.
Bishop has served in the U.S. House since winning a special election in September 2019, and he holds a law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Candidate filing began Thursday after the N.C. Supreme Court allowed the latest political maps to go forward, and goes through March 4.
More than 80 candidates are seeking one of the state’s 14 congressional seats. But less than 24 hours before filing was set to begin, a trial court announced that it was overturning the second map of congressional districts that lawmakers had created since November.
The trial court then released its own version of the map — the one the N.C. Supreme Court upheld — that has Bishop’s hometown of Charlotte straddling the 12th and 14th congressional districts, both leaning Democrat.
Instead of running there, the Republican lawmaker will run in the 8th district, which encompasses many of his current constituents and includes Anson, Davidson, Montgomery, Rowan, Stanly, Union and parts of Cabarrus and Richmond counties.
The 9th Congressional District includes Chatham, Hoke, Lee, Moore, Scotland, Randolph and parts of Cumberland, Harnett and Richmond counties.
Bishop is not required under the U.S. Constitution to live in the district he represents.
Seats on the Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals are also up for election this year.
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This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 5:38 PM.