Dr. Greg Murphy Wins NC-03 Republican Primary Runoff

NC-03 – North Carolina’s Third Congressional District now has the general election stage set to fulfill the remaining term of eastern North Carolna’s late Congressman Walter B. Jones after Dr. Greg Murphy, a member of the N.C. House, defeated Dr. Joan Perry in the Republican primary runoff. Murphy, who was endorsed by the House Freedom Fund and House Freedom Caucus leaders Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Jim Jordan (R-NC), will now square off against Democratic nominee Allen Thomas.

NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley congratulated Murphy and pledged support for ensuring a Republican victory in the general election to be held September 10.

“Residents of the 3rd District deserve a Representative who will fight for their values in Washington and be accountable to their constituents, not special interests, and they’ll get exactly that with Dr. Murphy. We look forward to deploying the full resources of the NCGOP in order to ensure that Dr. Murphy is victorious in September.” 

Murphy emerges from an initial field of 17 Republican primary contenders for a seat held by former Congressman Jones for the better part of the last 25 years. None of the 17 Republican candidates reached the 30 percent threshold in the first primary necessary to avoid a runoff election. The top two finishers, Dr. Murphy and Dr. Perry, battled it out with competing endorsements and pledges of support for the Trump agenda.

Ultimately, Murphy received nearly 60 percent of the runoff vote, winning 12 of the 17 counties in the coastal congressional district. It is presumed that the primary gauntlet is the most significant hurdle for Republicans aspiring to represent this conservative district on Capitol Hill. While the presumption is fueled by an R+12 advantage across much of eastern North Carolina, the Democrats will undoubtedly do their best to pull pout an upset.

Though, if Democrats were serious about picking up a seat in the U.S. House, they might have done better to nominate someone that’s not the subject of some scandalous corruption allegations.