NC-3: Rep. Walter Jones (R) Officially Retiring in 2020

Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (R) has announced he is following through on his stated plan to retire in 2020 after thirteen terms. The decision will no doubt yield cheers from GOP leadership, as Jones was in recent years perhaps one of the most frustrating members of the caucus. A former Southern Democrat who never quite fully converted to the GOP, Jones hews closely to a syncretic ideology that might best be described as moderate paleoconservatism. In practice, that meant he was often the first Republican to defect on any number of conservative priorities despite representing a thoroughly Safe seat, which led him to receive perennial primary challenges. However, his personal brand, incumbency, and vote-splitting between his challengers allowed Jones to prevail in a string of contested primaries.

Jones’s decision opens up NC-3, an R+12 seat covering much of the rural easternmost part of the state around the Outer Banks. The population of the seat is concentrated in the so-called “Inner Banks”, a collection of small cities and rural areas including Greenville, Jacksonville, New Bern, Elizabeth City, and Kinston. The Great Mentioner needs to start with Jones’s many prior primary challengers who may be emboldened to try again for the open seat. There are no fewer than five who have made serious bids over the last decade: ex-Onslow County commissioner Joe McLaughlin (R), ex-New Bern police chief Frank Palombo (R), congressional staffer Taylor Griffin (R), veteran Phil Law (R), and Craven County commissioner Scott Dacey (R). From the legislature, possibilities could include State Sens. Norman Sanderson (R), Harry Brown (R), and Bob Steinburg (R), and State Reps. Ed Goodwin (R), Michael Speciale (R), Bob Hanig (R), Greg Murphy (R), Pat McElraft (R), Chris Humphrey (R), George Cleveland (R), Phillip Shepard (R), and Keith Kidwell (R). Three names in particular to watch from the legislative delegation are Brown, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, Goodwin, who was the SoS nominee in 2012, and Speciale, a leader of the state’s antiestablishment conservatives. From local office, ex-Pitt County DA Kim Robb (R), who lost a State Senate race in a D-leaning district last year, could make a bid.