RALEIGH — The sprint to North Carolina’s March 5 primary has candidates in at least two congressional districts defending their connections to the districts in which they are running.
As many candidates and political observers have noted out over the years, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives does not need to live in the district in which they represent, only the state. That has been the case often in North Carolina and elsewhere, driven in part by ever-changing district lines in lawsuits concerning redistricting over the past 30-plus years.
However, two contests have seen the issue take precedence for primary voters.
In the 6th District, the six Republicans seeking to win the GOP nomination come from across the state.
Following the General Assembly’s 2023 redistricting session, the 6th District runs from parts of Guilford and Forsyth counties south to Davidson, Davie and Rowan and the northwestern corner of fast-growing Cabarrus County.
The new lines favor Republicans based on past voting history and Democrats failed to field a candidate in the race at all once two-term U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning said she would not seek reelection.
North State Journal reviewed voter registration records for the Republican primary candidates in the race.
6th District
Christian Castelli
A retired Green Beret, Castelli retired from the U.S. Army in 2012 and would subsequently lead two small businesses. He was registered to vote in Moore County from 2008 through this year, changing his registration on Jan. 19 to a High Point address in the 6th District.
Mary Ann Contogiannis
A plastic surgeon, Contogiannis has lived in Guilford County most of her life, although current Greensboro residence lies in the 5th District. Her family operates the popular Acropolis Restaurant in downtown Greensboro, known for its Greek food.
Bo Hines
The 2022 nominee in the 13th District is making another run at a seat in Congress. Hines is currently registered to vote in Union County, which is in the 8th District, after spending his 2022 campaign in southern Wake County. Hines is backed by the influential Club for Growth in the primary.
Addison McDowell
Entering the race with the endorsements of former President Donald Trump and close ally Sen. Ted Budd, McDowell is a native of Davidson County. Prior to announcing his run for Congress, he voted in Johnston County from 2020-2023 before re-registering in Davidson County.
Jay Wagner
The longest-tenured resident of the current iteration of the 6th District, Wagner is the former mayor of High Point and previously served as a city councilman for Guilford County’s second-largest city.
Mark Walker
The former three-term U.S. Rep. is running to return to Washington, D.C. in a district that is numerically the same but much different area-wise. Walker’s Summerfield home is in the 5th District, but he represented much of Guilford County and the surrounding area and campaigned across the state in the 2024 U.S. Senate Republican primary and an aborted run for governor for much of 2023.
10th District
Just west of the Piedmont, the 10th District Republican primary to succeed retiring Rep. Patrick McHenry has effectively become a two-man race between Pat Harrigan and Grey Mills.
Following redistricting, the new district contains the majority of Forsyth County and all of four additional counties: Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln and Yadkin.
Harrigan unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022 and was the GOP nominee in the 14th District, which encompassed areas of Mecklenburg County, Gaston County and others along the state’s southern border.
He has been registered in Catawba, Mecklenburg and Gaston counties since 2020, most recently registering again in Catawba County on Dec. 4, 2023.
Issues regarding Harrigan’s residency was also an issue in 2022 when his opponent in the general election, now-Rep. Jeff Jackson, challenged his Mecklenburg County residency in a case that ultimately was dropped.
A story from Charlotte’s WFAE reported that an apartment Harrigan allegedly lived in was not his “permanent domicile” and an investigation was going to be conducted.
At the time, Jackson said, “My opponent owes everyone an explanation as to why he cast a ballot in a county in which he appears to not actually live.”
Mecklenburg County’s elections director was quoted as well, saying that, “It’s your domicile, where you plan to return when you leave. He is claiming that is his apartment in SouthPark.”
A spokesman for Harrigan also said he had planned to move to the 14th District “whether he wins or loses but hasn’t been able to sell his home because interest rates are too high.”
However, Harrigan’s history since that story has been a move to Gaston County, where he voted in a 2023 municipal election in Gastonia, and a move back to a residence in Catawba County after McHenry’s retirement announcement.
Harrigan’s voter registration is much more varied than that of Mills.
Mills, who has been a state representative for two separate tenures in the General Assembly, is a longtime resident of Iredell County, first registering in Mooresville in 1998.
He was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 2008, serving for two terms before running unsuccessfully for Lt. Gov. in 2012. He returned to the General Assembly after winning the general election in November 2020.
The three other candidates in the 10th District GOP primary are Charles Eller, Diana Jimison and Brooke McGowan.
