Republican Bo Hines will try for Congress again

It’s “Bo time” again, this time in North Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District.

Bo Hines announced Thursday that he is throwing his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination for US House in that district.

Hines is a former NC State football player and a Yale and Wake Forest University law graduate.

“Our nation under Joe Biden faces a crisis of leadership, and many in the next generation of Americans – my generation – have abandoned the values that made this country great,” Hines said on X. “I cannot sit on the sidelines and watch the nation I love decline any further. As your next Congressman, I will fight D.C.’s reckless spending, work to restore America’s standing in the world, and strive valiantly to put America first every day.”

In 2022, Hines was the GOP nominee in the 13th congressional district — aided by an endorsement by former President Donald Trump — but fell short to Democrat Wiley Nickel 51% to 49%, a margin of less than 7,300 votes.

In October, former congressman Mark Walker dropped out of the GOP gubernatorial primary to run for the nomination in the Sixth Congressional District. Walker, a Greensboro area Baptist pastor, served in that seat from 2015 to 2021.

Walker took to X to blister Hines, writing, “I look forward to comparing my proven record to someone who is still trying to buy his first job.”

Christian Castelli, a decorated special forces veteran who won the district’s Republican primary last go-around, also released a statement on Hines’ decision:

I welcome 28-year-old perennial office shopper Bo Hines to the NC-06 congressional district race. There is clearly something unique and appealing about this great district. We now have two candidates who can’t decide either what district they should run in or what office they want to hold.

Bo Hines showcased his youthful indecisiveness last election cycle when he explored running in three different congressional districts, before he ultimately lost to liberal Democrat Wiley Nickel in a Republican leaning district near Raleigh. Mark Walker, on the other hand, has run for three different offices in 18 months.

The new Sixth Congressional District includes all of Rowan, Davidson, and Davie counties and parts of Cabarrus, Forsyth, and Guilford counties.

Walker previously represented much of the new district. The John Locke Foundation rates the new Sixth Congressional District as R+8, making this a likely GOP district.

US Rep. Kathy Manning is the incumbent Democrat in the district. Recently, Roll Call ranked Manning the No. 3 most vulnerable incumbent in the nation.

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