Chuck Edwards
Chuck Edwards | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 11th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Madison Cawthorn |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 48th district | |
| In office August 19, 2016 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Apodaca |
| Succeeded by | Tim Moffitt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Marion Edwards September 13, 1960 Waynesville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Teresa Edwards |
| Children | 2 (1 deceased) |
| Education | Blue Ridge Community College |
| Website | House website |
Charles Marion Edwards (born September 13, 1960)[citation needed] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 48th district in the North Carolina Senate from 2016 to 2023.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Edwards was born in Waynesville, North Carolina. He graduated from West Henderson High School in 1978 and studied business, accounting, and marketing at Blue Ridge Community College.[3]
Career
[edit]
Edwards joined McDonald's in 1989, working as an operations manager until 1991, senior business consultant from 1991 to 1996, and development coordinator from 1996 to 1998. He also worked as the vice president of Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress.[4] In 2013, he became a director of Entegra Financial Corporation.[5] In 2020, Entegra merged with First Citizens Bank.[6]
Edwards was appointed to the North Carolina Senate in August 2016 after Tom Apodaca resigned. He defeated Democratic nominee Norman Bossert in 2016, and was reelected in 2018 and 2020.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Elections
[edit]2022
[edit]On November 30, 2021, Edwards declared his candidacy for North Carolina's 11th congressional district in the 2022 election.[8] The district was represented by freshman Republican incumbent Madison Cawthorn. Cawthorn faced numerous scandals, had made a number of controversial statements, and was criticized by Edwards as an ineffective legislator.[9] Edwards was also endorsed by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis.
On May 17, 2022, Edwards defeated Cawthorn in the Republican primary with 33.4% of the vote.[10] Although he lost 12 of the district's 15 counties, he carried Buncombe, its most populous, by over 2,000 votes, exceeding his overall margin of 1,338. Edwards also defeated Cawthorn in Henderson County by 3,191 votes. Henderson County is home to both Edwards and Cawthorn.[11]
Political positions
[edit]Edwards voted, with the 412-to-10 bipartisan majority, to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[12][13]
In January 2024, Edwards introduced legislation which would prevent immigrants from being counted by the United States census, for the purposes of determining the United States congressional apportionment.[14] In February 2024, Edwards posted a picture on X of a large migrant caravan in Mexico in order to criticize the immigration policies of the Biden administration, suggesting that Joe Biden was at fault for the migrants in the picture immigrating to the United States. However, the picture was taken in 2018, during the administration of Donald Trump.[15][16]
Acting on a complaint filed by the Henderson County (North Carolina) Democratic Party, Edwards was sanctioned by the House of Representatives Communications Standards Commission on April 24, 2024, for making personal attacks against President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in email newsletters sent to constituents in May, June, July and December, 2023.[17] Such attacks are prohibited by federal law and by rules of the House of Representatives when they are sent out as "mass communications" at taxpayer expense.[18]
Electoral history
[edit]U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chuck Edwards | 29,496 | 33.4 | |
| Republican | Madison Cawthorn (incumbent) | 28,112 | 31.9 | |
| Republican | Matthew Burril | 8,341 | 9.5 | |
| Republican | Bruce O'Connell | 6,037 | 6.8 | |
| Republican | Rod Honeycutt | 5,775 | 6.5 | |
| Republican | Michele Woodhouse | 4,668 | 5.3 | |
| Republican | Wendy Nevarez | 4,525 | 5.1 | |
| Republican | Kristie Sluder | 1,304 | 1.5 | |
| Total votes | 88,258 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chuck Edwards | 174,232 | 53.8 | ||
| Democratic | Jasmine Beach-Ferrara | 144,165 | 44.5 | ||
| Libertarian | David Coatney | 5,515 | 1.7 | ||
| Total votes | 323,912 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Personal life
[edit]Edwards and his wife, Teresa, have had two children. In 2018, his 36 year old son died from a self-inflicted gunshot after a lengthy period of untreated depression.[19]
References
[edit]- ^ "Chuck Edwards replaces Tom Apodaca, will complete Apodaca's term". WLOS News 13. Associated Press. August 24, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Senator Chuck Edwards - Biography - North Carolina General Assembly". North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Chuck Edwards". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ Moss, Bill (January 29, 2013). "Henderson County Business: Small business background preps Edwards for Chamber role - Hendersonville Lightning". www.hendersonvillelightning.com. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "Charles Edwards' Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "First Citizens Bank Completes Merger With Entegra Financial Corp., Entegra Bank". www.firstcitizens.com. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "Chuck Edwards". Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ King, Kimberly (November 30, 2021). "Republicans eye open seats after Sen. Edwards announces congressional run". WLOS News 13. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ "Rep. Madison Cawthorn's primary challenger Chuck Edwards wants to focus on results for North Carolina — not his opponent's many scandals". Business Insider.
- ^ Ulloa, Jazmine (2022-05-18). "Madison Cawthorn loses his re-election bid after a deluge of scandals". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ "NC SBE Election Contest Details".
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun (2023-10-25). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
- ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (2023-10-25). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ King, Kimberly (January 25, 2024). "Congressman Chuck Edwards introduces legislation targeting immigrants". WLOS. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Zurick, Maura (February 13, 2024). "Republican Congressman's Meme About Border on Biden's Watch Backfires". Newsweek. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Moye, David (February 14, 2024). "GOP Rep. Blames Biden For Border Issues Using Pic Taken During Trump Era". Yahoo. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Staff, WLOS (2024-04-25). "Rep. Chuck Edwards sanctioned by House commission over communications rules violation". WLOS. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ^ "The House of Representatives Communications Standards Manual" (PDF).
- ^ "Today@NCCapitol: Moment of silence". WRAL.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
External links
[edit]- Congressman Chuck Edwards official U.S. House website
- Campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN