WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina’s primary election is on March 5. For many voters in North Carolina, they will be electing a new member of Congress in 2024, after new district maps were drawn and several current members chose not to run for re-election.
Spectrum News is looking at top concerns for the voters heading to the polls.
We visited Congressional District 6 in the Triad. This is an open seat with six GOP candidates running for the nomination in the Republican-heavy district.
With a slew of announcements of big companies coming to the area, economic growth is top of mind, voters say.
Spectrum News 1 spoke with a new business owner who says the growth is the only way her company can thrive.
Allison Flaherty celebrated the grand opening of her new company Bytor Business Center in Winston-Salem, a community where recent economic booms have set the path for opportunities for economic growth.
“We are very excited to be here and be a part of the community,” Flaherty said.
Big new employers in the region, like Toyota in Randolph County that announced an $8 billion investment towards its electric battery manufacturing site, inspired Flaherty to start her company.
“We’d like to take advantage of that,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty’s business is in the new Congressional District 6, and as a voter, she wants economic growth to be the top issue for her next member of congress to tackle in Washington.
“It would be nice to have some incentives to have more small businesses start to really help entrepreneurs,” Flaherty said.
Flaherty also wants more federal dollars spent helping rural businesses and communities get access to high-speed internet.
“There are a lot of people starting small businesses and they need to have resources,” Flaherty said.
Spectrum News 1 asked all six Republican candidates what steps they plan to take to bring more economic growth to District 6 if elected.
Mary Ann Contogiannis said, “Our district currently has seen a significant increase in manufacturing companies. Our District infrastructure plans will need to address access to transportation services for these industries such as Boom Supersonoic."
Bo Hines said, "I'll work in Congress to ensure that our economy prioritizes the well-being of the American people by safeguarding jobs in District 6 and businesses."
Jay Wagner said, “I'm the only candidate running that has a track record of pro-growth policies that have led to thousands of middle class jobs. What we accomplished in High Point can and will be accomplished across our district.”
Addison McDowell said, “I plan to fight for the America First Agenda that protects and promotes American jobs as priority number one. Then we have to stop Joe Biden’s reckless spending."
Mark Walker said, "Nearly 70% of all jobs in District 6 are small businesses. Federal compliance issues and regulations are a huge deterrent. As I have said before, I will continue to push back and work on legislation and resources, when available."
Christian Castelli said, "We’ve got to start reshoring manufacturing again, less in China, more in the United States. Of course, agriculture is big, we have to stop selling our farmland to the Chinese. We need legislation that prevents that.”