Davis exit marks another shift in NC-11 Dem race
North Carolina's 11th Congressional District Democrats think they can unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards.
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Weeks after a bitter dispute over a Democratic gala laid bare divisions in Western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, the field is shifting again.
Moe Davis, who joined other candidates in protesting the event’s handling and was first to enter the race back in May, said in a Facebook post late on the evening of Aug. 22 he would exit the race.
The gala flap erupted in July, when district party leaders initially planned to feature only newcomer Jamie Ager as the keynote speaker at the annual event. Davis and three other candidates called it favoritism and threatened to boycott. The controversy forced changes to the program and led to the resignation of the district chair, but it also spotlighted the crowded primary and the party’s belief that a Democrat can unseat two-term Republican incumbent Chuck Edwards in 2026.
Davis, the Democratic nominee in 2020, is a former Air Force prosecutor and judge who retired as a colonel. He lost that General Election to Madison Cawthorn after a decisive primary win. His decision to bow out this time narrows a field that still includes Ager, Zelda Briarwood, Paul Maddox and possibly nurse practitioner Chris Harjes, who said he would also run for NC-11 chair. Others may still enter the race. The chair election will take place Sept. 3.
True to form, Davis left harsh words for the party and for Ager, who is the perceived frontrunner at this point in the race.
“I’m grateful to everyone who supported my effort to kick ass for the working class in Western North Carolina, but at the end of the day you can’t overcome the overwhelming weight of the party’s dynasties who have aligned behind the status quo,” Davis said. “Tonight, I concede to John Ager. He cleared the deck to pass down his state house seat to his son Eric in 2022 and he’s doing the same for his son Jamie in 2026 … political office is a family heirloom that gets handled down like it’s granddaddy’s pocket watch.”
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John Ager, Jamie’s father, was a state House rep from 2015 to 2023. Jamie’s brother, Eric, is currently one of Buncombe County’s state House reps. Jamie’s grandfather, Jamie Clarke, was a North Carolina congressman in the 1980s, serving until 1991.
Jamie addressed the topic of “dynastic entitlement” in a July 28 interview with The Smoky Mountain News.
“At the end of the day, I care, and I think caring is why I’m running, not because of trying to uphold some image or whatever,” he said.
The candidate filing period for the 2026 General Election begins on Dec. 1. The Primary Election will be held on March 3, 2026.
