N.C.'s only open House race is a toss-up – spectrumlocalnews.com

N.C.’s only open House race is a toss-up  spectrumlocalnews.com

Jennifer Balkcom is a former Democrat who said she first voted for a Republican in 2016. Democrat Jamie Ager is the CEO of a family farm. WASHINGTON — It’s been a whirlwind few months for Jennifer Balkcom. “It feels like 90 miles an hour and you’re trying to build a plane that you’re trying to land in just a few months,” Balkcom told Spectrum News 1 during a September interview in Hendersonville. In August, the two-term state representative, who’s a mortgage loan officer, replaced Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards on the ballot to represent the 11th District in western North Carolina in Congress. “Our community had been let down, and it was my time to step in,” Balkcom said.

“I want to work hard for the people who work here… the reason I did it is I want to do in Washington like I have in Raleigh.” Edwards dropped his reelection campaign following the release of a bipartisan House ethics report finding he acted inappropriately toward two young female staffers. Edwards apologized but emphasized the committee did not find that he violated sexual misconduct law. Balkcom said she was disappointed in Edwards and would have voted to censure him. When asked whether he should resign, she paused and said she wasn’t sure and was on the fence. Jamie Ager is the