March 4. By Dave Yochum. You’ve seen the TV commercials by now with John Bradford and his children. He and five other candidates are running in the GOP primary for the 8th Congressional District, which stretches from Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties to Robeson County to the east.
John Bradford
So far, Bradford is the most visible.
The district he’s running for—formerly 13—no longer includes Cornelius, where Bradford started his political career on the Town Board. He went on to the NC House of Representatives in District 98 which does include Cornelius.
No rule about living in the district
If it seems confusing it’s because candidates running for the US House are not required to be a resident of the congressional district in which they are seeking election.
The seat is open because Republican Dan Bishop is running for attorney general. US House District 8 is overwhelmingly Republican.
Tim Moore is running in 14
NC Speaker of the House Tim Moore, also Republican, announced last year he would run for the newly reconfigured 14th Congressional District which does include Cornelius.
It’s almost guaranteed the winner of the March 5 primary will go to Washington.
In the last filing report Bradford had $1,370,798 cash on hand, all of it new money because candidates can’t use state campaign funds for a federal race.
Move into 8
“In less than two years all of our kids will be in college and we will officially be empty nesters,” Bradford said. He and wife Shea would move into the 8th District if he’s elected.
In the state legislature, Bradford has supported initiatives to lower taxes and attract more businesses to North Carolina, as well as balancing the state budget and personal income tax cuts.
He’s a critic of politics in Washington.
“We need to send leaders to DC that just don’t make promises but actually have a record of keeping promises and delivering results. I have served in the NC House of Representatives for eight years and I have a proven track record of delivering conservative results,” Bradford said.
Background
If Bradford is elected, he would join another Cornelius Town Board member in Washington, DC. US Sen. Thom Tillis also began his political career on the Town Board before being elected to the District 98 seat which Bradford holds now.
Quotable
“Just as I have done in my four terms serving in the NC House of Representatives, I would fight for a smaller government, balanced budget, more simple tax code, lower taxes, parental rights, secure border, reducing crime and more,” Bradford said.
