NEWS

 

2024 Primary – U.S. Congress District 14

Davidson has been redistricted into North Carolina’s new congressional district, the fourteenth district. The 2020 Census resulted in North Carolina receiving an additional congressional seat.

As a new congressional district, there is no incumbent. There are three Republican primary candidates and two Democratic candidates.

Our email to each of these candidates led with the following introduction:

“As you know, Davidson is currently in U.S. Congressional District 12. Our current Congresswoman recently highlighted her ongoing top 4 priorities: housing, health care, higher education, and hunger.”

The following is the list of candidates with campaign information from the N.C. Board of Elections website. Additional information is provided for those candidates who replied to our questionnaire.

 

Jeff Gregory (R)

1400 Mooresboro Road

Shelby, NC 28150

Email: [email protected]

(704)477-8750

Website: (only Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/p/Jeff-Gregory-For-Congress-100057713606166/

 

 Lillian Joseph (R)

144 Rugby Road

Salisbury, NC 28144

Email: [email protected]

(704) 488-7717

Website:  https://www.lillianjoseph.com

Q1. Top Priorities (which are based in speaking with a multitude of voters in the D. 14 region):

1. Immigration and Border Security (the fentanyl crisis)
2. The Economy and specifically, inflation
3. A Broken Congress
4. Foreign Affairs: specifically, our involvement with Ukraine and Israel

Q2. If your priorities don’t include any of the aforementioned priorities (Rep. Adams’ list of priorities), please give us your thoughts about them and why they aren’t a top priority for you.

Housing, Healthcare, Education and Hunger are concerns for our constituents but do not stand out as top priorities as stated simply because the issues at hand are larger than Ms. Adams’ stated priorities, which are narrow and applicable to small segments of the demographic in the area.  Three out of four of these priorities are very focused issues and are better tackled at the state and local and community level:  Housing, Hunger and Education.

Housing is an issue within the Economy priority:  affordable housing is something that is needed for average income home buyers in D 14.  Housing is also an issue within the border conversation.  It’s also a border security issue: tax dollars are being used for housing (and so much more) on the federal, state, and local level for illegals who have broken the law by entering the USA without our permission.

Healthcare is an issue within the Economy conversation:  drug prices, hospitals and healthcare facilities are inflated to favor corporations, not our citizens.  It is also a topic within the larger Broken Congress conversation:  we need transparency and accountability for where and how our tax dollars are being spent through DHHS.  Doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies need to be investigated for their high healthcare costs.

Higher Education and education in general is an issue within the Border Security/The Economy/ Broken Congress priorities.  Border Security/The Economy:  we should not be spending our tax dollars on educating those who have entered our country illegally.  It takes away funding and focus on citizens and legal residents.

Secondly, if we don’t successfully teach our children to excel in the right subjects:  math, science, technology, English comprehension, then we will continue to need to bring in talent and expertise from other countries.  Other countries such as India, the Scandinavian countries, Korea, Taiwan and the UK will continue to surpass us in academics.  Fields that require business acumen, science and technology will require us to bring in H1B visa individuals to fill these positions.  High paying jobs are what churns the economy by bringing in a higher tax base.  This in turn increases consumer spending, which increases our GDP.  A Broken Congress should not allow the Department of Education to continue to function at the federal level – this money should go to the states and local governments.  Higher Education including vocational schools and community colleges are extremely important and need local, state and federal funding.  Community colleges are where many high school students are learning trades such as plumbing and building cars of the future.

Hunger is a topic of discussion within a larger priority: The Economy and inflation.  Hunger is a problem within a sub-section of the larger population:  the homeless population, people who are not able to access social services or charities as well as those who do not qualify for services because of their income level (being too high.)  Hunger is an issue that was historically umbrellaed under local charities, religious, and non-profit organizations.  It is truly an issue for local communities; at what point did hunger become a federal issue?  We have enough food in our communities to feed each person – we need to work on the local level to distribute and care for our neighbors as we did a few decades ago.

Q3. Can you summarize your thoughts about gun rights/gun control – to include background checks and assault weapons? Please include if you have a current NRA rating.

I believe the second amendment to the Constitution means what it says.  That all law-abiding Americans have the inalienable right to keep and bear arms.

 

Q4. Do you have any specific endorsements that you would like to highlight?

My endorsements come from individual voters – I am not a big money career politician.  All I have asked for and have overwhelmingly received is the trust and vote of individuals who want a person in Congress who they can trust to do what’s right for the constituents (regardless of party affiliation) and for their district.

 

Tim Moore (R)

408 W. Mountain Street

Kings Mountain, NC 28086

Email: [email protected]

(704) 739-1221

Website: https://www.timmoorenc.com

 

Pam Genant (D)

1519 Falls Road NW

Valdese, NC 28690

Email: [email protected]

(828) 639-0490

Website:  https://www.pamgenant.com

Q. Please give us your top 4 priorities.

1. Voting rights, and eliminating gerrymandering and voter suppression laws.

2.  The housing crisis.

3. Women’s Reproductive Rights

4. Education

Q. If your priorities don’t include any of the aforementioned priorities (Rep. Adams’), please give us your thoughts about them and why they aren’t a top priority for you.

Hunger is an important issue especially in places with food insecurity.  During my time in the military I could see this first hand with our active duty service members, as well as seeing it in this district today.  But I feel voting rights, considering the current climate of voter suppression, not just here in NC but around the country, has to be a priority.  Without securing voting rights, we can easily lose our Democracy. 

Q. Can you summarize your thoughts about gun rights/gun control – to include background checks and assault weapons? Please include if you have a current NRA rating.  This is from my web site, I wrote it myself and feel that the gun violence crisis needs to be dealt with head on: America has a gun violence crisis and it’s getting worse. Despite overwhelming public support for common sense gun safety measures, Republicans in Congress refuse to take any action to stop the devastating wave of gun violence. There’s no single solution that will end gun violence overnight, but by establishing smart gun safety measures we can keep guns out of the hands of people who could hurt themselves or others. As your Congresswomen I will…

• Require all states to report to the NICS system and to regulate closely all federally licensed dealers or manufacturers.
• Pass legislation that empowers law enforcement to confiscate firearms from those deemed dangerous by a panel of judges, enforce Red Flag Laws. 
• Stand up to gun manufacturers and their lobbyists and enact legislation that puts public safety above corporate profits.
• Ban assault style weapon sales.
• Enact H.R. 660/S. 173/Ethan’s Law, to provide for safe gun storage in homes where there are children.

 

Brendan K. Maginnis (D)

10937 Back Ridge Road

Charlotte, NC 28277

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.maginnis4congress.org

Q1. Please give us your top 4 priorities.

Voting Rights Legislation

Women’s Rights

Helping Small Business Owners

Shrinking the Income Inequality Gap

Q2. If your priorities don’t include any of the aforementioned priorities (Rep. Adams’ list of priorities), please give us your thoughts about them and why they aren’t a top priority for you.

Those 4 priorities could be considered to fall underneath the same issue- people not having enough income or money. Therefore, my solutions around Shrinking the Income Inequality Gap technically cover those priorities, if only by a different name.

Q3. Can you summarize your thoughts about gun rights/gun control – to include background checks and assault weapons? Please include if you have a current NRA rating.

I do not have an NRA rating. The right to gun ownership is guaranteed in the 2nd Amendment, though it’s original intent has been intentionally misinterpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States in several cases over time. All Americans agree that we want safer homes and safer streets, so responsible gun ownership begins with responsible legislation around gun ownership, which would include universal background checks, 7-day waiting periods, and closing the gun show loophole. In addition, the previous bipartisan assault weapon ban that was allowed to lapse statistically proved that banning assault weapons significantly decreased mass shootings and deaths, so reviving a bipartisan assault weapon ban is crucial to providing a safer country for individuals, our families, and most of all, our children.

Q4. Do you have any specific endorsements that you would like to highlight?

I have been endorsed by the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, which I believe comes from my commitment to helping all people overcome inequality, whether it’s due to race, gender, or an economic and political system that has put them at a disadvantage.