Nix announces candidacy for Congress
Michele Nix, center, announces she is running for the U.S. House of Representatives District 3 seat that opened up when Rep. Walter B. Jones passed away last month. To the left is her husband, John Nix, a Kinston businessman. Photo by Bryan Hanks / Neuse News
By Bryan Hanks
Two weeks after forming an exploratory committee to examine the possibility of running for the late Walter B. Jones Jr. seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kinston’s Michele Nix formally threw her hat in the ring.
The Republican made her announcement in front of a throng of supporters outside her husband John’s business, Matrix East, Monday afternoon.
“Today, I am humbled and honored to announce I’m a candidate for the U.S. House, North Carolina, Third Congressional District,” Nix said to a collection of cheers from her supporters.
She becomes one of several announced candidates for the office that opened up when Jones passed away Feb. 10.
“This election is being held under somber circumstances,” she said. “The loss of Congressman Walter Jones has been difficult and he will be greatly missed. I cannot replace Walter but I hope I can go to Washington and live up to his legacy.”
Nix, an investment advisor and the former chair of the Lenoir County Republican Party, traveled to Raleigh Monday to resign as vice-chair of the North Carolina Republican Party. In her announcement ceremony Monday, she said she hopes to be elected so she can support President Trump’s agenda in the U.S. House.
“The president needs more good Republican women in Congress,” she said. “We need to fight for lower taxes, less government, less spending, less regulation and to bring back common sense government to America and our Third Congressional District.”
Patty Hurley and her husband, Wayne, traveled from Jones County for Monday’s announcement.
“Her way of thinking is a lot like Donald Trump and that’s one of the biggest reasons I’m supporting her,” Hurley said. “If you support Trump, you support the conservative party and you support most of the people in the United States.”
Early voting for the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian primaries for the Third District seat begins April 10; primary election day is April 30.
The field to replace Jones is growing larger by the day. Nix joins fellow Republicans N.C. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Pitt), Phil Law (who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2016 and 2018) and N.C. Rep. Michael Speciale (R-Craven), who have filed for the seat; Jeff Moore, Sandy Smith and N.C. Rep. Phil Shepard (R-Onslow) are other members of the GOP who have announced their intent to run for the seat. It is anticipated another Kinston Republican – Dr. Joan Perry – will announce her intent to run this week.
Two Democrats – New Bern Mayor Dana Outlaw and Ike Johnson – have filed to run for the seat, while Ollie Johnson has announced he will run. Another Democrat with Kinston roots, restaurateur George Parrott, has announced on Facebook he is running in the primary.
New Bern’s Tim Harris, the lone Libertarian in the race to this point, announced his intent to run last week.
