Editorial: Start now to determine best candidate for U.S. House
5th Congressional District candidates Charlie Wallin, Josh Brannon and Jim Roberts look on as City Council Member Dan Besse moderates a forum at Forsyth County Democratic Party headquarters on May 5.
Photo by Todd Luck
Three candidates will be competing in the June 7 Democratic primary for the chance to run against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, who was first elected in 2004 to represent the 5th Congressional District.
Now is the time to look at these candidates before the June 7 primary.
This will be a new experience for many residents on the east side of Winston-Salem, who for years voted in the 12th Congressional District, which was represented by Alma Adams, an African-American woman from Greensboro. Most of eastern Winston-Salem’s residents are African-American.
But earlier this year after a federal court struck down North Carolina’s congressional districts as too racially concentrated in Districts 1 and 12, the congressional districts were reconfigured, and a separate June 7 primary was ordered. Now, all of Forsyth County is in the 5th Congressional District.
June 7 is less than a month away.
None of the candidates in the 5th Congressional District’s June 7 primary, Democrat or Republican, is African-American.
Charlie Wallin, 44; Jim Roberts, 71; and Josh Brannon, 38, who lost to Foxx in 2014 by 22 per-cent, spoke at a forum held at Forsyth County Democratic Party headquarters on May 5. (See story on page A1.) This was one chance to check them out. However, they all have ways to contact them:
*Charlie Wallin: www.charliewallinfor-congress.com, www.facebook.com/Charlie-Wallin-for-Congress-338660630910/?ref=nf
*Jim Roberts: www.facebook.com/Jim-Roberts-for-US-Congress-1029276277132949/
*Josh Brannon: http://joshforushouse.com/, www.facebook.com/JoshForUSHouse/.
Now is the time to register to vote. The deadline to register to vote in North Carolina is 25 days before the date of an election, which is Friday, May 13, for the June 7 primary. The voter registration application must be received by the Forsyth County Board of Elections by this date.
New voter registration cards are being mailed out in Forsyth County to let current voters know that their congressional district has changed.
Be ready to vote in the 5th Congressional District and vote for the person who will work in your best interest.
