Haywood and Madison counties will have a new state House representative at the beginning of 2027 in either Republican Jimmy Rogers or Democrat Danny Davis. 

Amid an increasingly favorable national and state political climate for Democrats, the party is hoping to flip enough seats to put a decisive end to Republicans’ supermajority in the state House. The seat has been in Republican Mark Pless’ for almost six years before he was defeated by Rogers in the primary.

Jimmy Rogers

Rogers has served on the Haywood County School Board since 2000. He has also been on the Haywood County Event Center Board and the Haywood Electric Membership Corporation board. Through his work on the North Carolina School Board Association, he’s had cause to go to Raleigh to lobby legislators.

He said he’d considered running for the house seat for about two years and decided to make a go of it. The General Election Campaign feels like the Primary process for Rogers, but he noted that he now speaks with a variety of voters and not just fellow Republicans. He finds himself going into more detail with voters as he explains his platform.

Rogers won every precinct in Haywood County in March but only took one in Madison County. He feels that he didn’t have much name recognition, so he’s worked to build that. He said a lot people realize who he is and what family he comes from once they find out he owns Haywood Tractor. He said his message is that he wants to represent local people and not focus on micromanagement or unachievable goals.

“I’m not going to go down to Raleigh and say this is what Waynesville is going to do. This is what Clyde’s going to do,” he said.

“If Waynesville needs infrastructure to do their water and sewer system, then okay, that’s going to cost a lot of money; the state’s got some funds and grants,” he added.

Rogers has made trips to Raleigh to get a closer look at how business is done and said he’s already formed bonds with some representatives.

With the GOP supermajority likely ending during the next term, he said he’s willing to work with Democrats on legislation that benefits everyone, adding that he’s already gotten to know Rep. Eric Ager (D-Buncombe) through their work on the Western North Carolina DWI Taskforce.

“It may be tighter, and I’m willing to walk across the aisle,” he said.

Rogers said he’d like to see the state’s education system become stronger, which requires raising teacher pay so it’s more competitive with other states.

“It’s still a long way off in North Carolina from where we should be,” he said, adding that further pay-scale adjustments are needed to compensate more experienced educators.

Rogers aligns with state Republicans when it comes to lowering the state income tax and even expressed interest in getting rid of regressive taxes on things like groceries. However, he also realizes that the government needs revenue to pay for projects and services.

“You got to be able to survive too, and you got to be able to pay your bills,” he said.

Rogers said he would like to also address the cost of living, including affordable housing; he believes developments popping up in the area over the last few years don’t qualify.

“Give people housing opportunities they can afford … we still need to work on that,” he said.

He intends to represent all his constituents should he make it to Raleigh, not just individuals from one party or specific towns. When a town or county needs something, he said he’d work to help them get that and wouldn’t try to hurt local governments. He said that as a man who has owned a small business, he’s worked to serve people, something that’s a reflection of personal faith and values.

“Yeah, I’m Republican, and I do believe in good conservative values, and I believe in taking care of your people,” he said. “That’s not a party thing.”

Rogers said he hopes to be accountable and responsive to residents. Simply put, he wants to help people get stuff done that matters to them.

“If you want a road that’s you got a road already and you thinks it should be state maintained, then there’s where you got that relationship with someone in.to say, ‘Hey, would y’all take a look at this?’” he said.

Davis served as a district court judge for 33 years and now works as a mediator. He also ran for county commissioner in 2018 and lost to Mark Pless, who served two years before being elected to the General Assembly.

Danny Davis

Davis said he’d been approached before about running for the state House seat, but he felt it wasn’t the right time until now. He chose to run because he thought the laws being passed in Raleigh by the Republican majority weren’t benefitting the people of Western North Carolina who are struggling just to get by.

He believes he is qualified for the office because of his experience on the bench interpreting legislation. He also served as a legislative liaison for the judicial district for 12 years, which brought him to the halls of the general assembly to lobby and help craft bills.

Davis believes that infrastructural shortcomings, like the lack of broadband internet in more rural areas, must be fixed before some of the most important issues can be addressed. With the loss of industry over the last several decades, most recently with Pactiv Evergreen shutting down its Canton paper mill in 2023, having site-ready locations for new industries to set up shop will also require things like water, sewer, and natural gas connections. He thinks a partnership with regional colleges and universities can lead to a study on the issue.

Davis, when discussing his experience on the Haywood County elections board, said North Carolina needs to make the state board of elections “independent” and then leave them to do their work free of politics.

“They are meddling way too much,” he said.

Davis isn’t as concerned with contributing to a broader statewide Democratic victory as he is winning his own race and representing Haywood and Madison counties. In fact, he doesn’t want to get too locked into the partisan dynamic he thinks has disadvantaged working people across the state for decades.

That said, he did admit he isn’t happy with Republicans’ agenda, including the state constitutional amendments on the November ballot and what he believes are policies that favor the wealthy and corporations over average folks.

Davis said he chose to run because he cares about the people of this region and wants future generations to have the same prospects he’s enjoyed. He’s seen young people with promising futures leave the area in seek of opportunities to match their ambitions, and he doesn’t feel it has to be that way. He added that in a political climate where everyone seems focused on opposition, he wants to stand for something.

“I’m trying to make sure that as a state, we pay attention to our rural communities again and try to make sure that our people in those rural communities have the same opportunities they’re having in in the urban communities,” he said.

Davis said he’s known Rogers most of his life and respects his opponent but that he is still the best person to represent the interests of two counties that have often been overlooked in recent decades.

“I’m doing it because I have specific things I want to do,” he said. “I say to people, ‘I want to help and I’m sticking right to that and not going down rabbit holes.”