RALEIGH — After running in 2019’s 9th District special election, Republican Leigh Brown feels at home in the newly-drawn 8th District.
In an interview with North State Journal, she said the “new alignment” made it worth jumping in a crowded field.
“My home county is in the district. Instead of just being someone who served the district, I live in and serve the district as a real estate professional,” said Brown in an interview as the 2024 filing period drew to a close.
“My purpose for running right now, I believe we need a different breed of candidate. It’s time to see some good humored, conservative common sense people come to the forefront who have signed both sides of the check. As somebody who’s owned a company for couple of decades, I bring a different level of experience to Congress that will benefit this district.”
According to Brown she says her campaign will be about economic issues.
“We have to stop printing money… that’s the source of the inflation. That’s the source of why everything’s out of control. It’s called quantitative easing. It’s a printing press run wild,” Brown said.
She added that, “we should not be spending money on pet projects when we have Americans struggling at the grocery store.”
Brown also discussed the question of economic growth, noting that the job of the federal government isn’t to dictate zoning but to support with things such as infrastructure.
“Stanly County, Anson County, Union County, Cabarrus County, all of them have struggled with water and sewer issues,” Brown said.
“That also means understanding not every county wants to look like Mecklenburg County.”
She added, “Mecklenburg’s got its pros and cons, but if you are in Richmond County, that’s probably not why you live there. We want to support what’s happening in Laurinburg and what makes sense for Laurinburg is different than what Albemarle wants, which is different than what Norwood wants.”
One example Brown gave of what separates her from the field of six candidates is her real-life experience.
“I would love to be the mom at the table that says, we don’t need this. We don’t need this. We don’t need this. Because if you look at any of these omnibus spending bills, there’s things we don’t need to do,” said Brown.
The 8th District Republican primary for Congress candidates are Brown, Charlotte attorney Don Brown (no relation), Charlotte-area pastor Mark Harris, Richmond County businessman Chris Maples, Union County Commissioner Allan Baucom and Mecklenburg County state Rep. John Bradford.
