North Carolina’s Mark Walker expected to announce Senate bid

GOP Rep. Mark Walker is expected to announce plans to run for Senate in North Carolina in early December, multiple sources confirmed to The Hill, with an official campaign rollout coming as soon as Dec. 1.

Walker, a member of House GOP leadership and former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, is set to launch a bid for the seat being vacated by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in January 2023. Burr announced in 2016, the year he last won reelection, that he would not run for another six-year term.

The GOP congressman had previously weighed a primary bid against Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in 2019 before opting against the challenge. He decided not to seek another term in the House after court-prompted redistricting shifted his seat from safely Republican to a blue district.

Walker, a former pastor who has previously seen strong support and encouragement to run from conservative groups such as Club for Growth, has served as an ally and staunch defender of President Trump during his time in the House. His upcoming announcement comes as reports have emerged that Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, is mulling running for the Senate seat.

But according to one source close to Walker, while it could complicate his bid, her potential candidacy is not a factor in his decision to run, noting they “are not sure what Lara’s timeline is or what the Trump name will mean when that time comes.”

“It doesn’t change anything for Walker. If anything, it brings stability to the race because you assume where the Trump endorsement is going — it means you’re not going to be surprised,” one source familiar with Walker’s plans told The Hill. 

“If anything, I think what this hurts most is the party loyalists in North Carolina, which was never clearly from redistricting Walker’s base of support, because the folks in Raleigh now and some of the party institutions will have to give a second thought to whether or not they want to be seen as opposing a Trump in a primary. So for Walker’s calculation, it doesn’t change anything. We see a path where he could help and the plan that he has crafted will certainly work around curveballs in the campaign.”

One North Carolina Republican told The Hill that it could be a crowded field, with former Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) floated as other potential candidates for the race.