GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina’s primary election day is on March 5.

For many voters in the state, 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.


What You Need To Know

  • Spectrum News 1 is looking at issues that are a top concern for the voters heading to the polls

  • Spectrum News 1 headed to Congressional District 6, which is in the Triad

  • This race is an open seat and will be decided by the primary with only Republican candidates filing to run 

  • Voters there say they’re tired of senseless crime

Spectrum News 1 is looking at issues that are a top concern for the voters heading to the polls and went to Congressional District 6, which is in the Triad.

This race is an open seat and will be decided by the primary with only Republican candidates filing to run.

Voters there say they’re tired of senseless crime.

They want to know what steps candidates running for Congress plan to take to combat gun violence, and a pastor talked with Spectrum News 1 about his friend’s murder

Senior Pastor Cardes Brown of New Light Missionary Baptist Church keeps an obituary of his friend 59-year old Matthew Grant, who was shot to death last September in Greensboro after a football game.

“When we talk about his obituary, a servant of God, and that’s truly what he was,” Brown said.

Grant was scheduled to preach at New Light Missionary Baptist where he was the associate pastor the Wednesday after his death.

But he was gunned down after volunteering to help after a football game.

“It tells us that we have so much to do. The almost insanity in our world for such a little appreciation of life,” Brown said.

Brown lives and works in District 6, he says he wants the next member of Congress that represents him in Washington to be willing to take on gun violence. He says that means taking a whole-listic look at what is causing the violence, beyond the guns themselves.

“Solutionary measures such as conversations, we talk about the importance of discussion, reasoning. Look at consequences and look at cause,” Cardes explained.

He says he wants to see more federal dollars going into community violence intervention and more programs to keep young people out of trouble, especially during the summer. Brown also wants the future member of congress to improve mental health care.

He says those initiatives are critical and needed to stop senseless crime. It’s a topic politicians in Washington have shown bipartisan support for.

“Life is precious, and every life is important,” Cardes said.

We asked all six candidates what steps they plan to take to combat crime in District 6. 

Security at the border is also an issue. 

MaryAnn Contogiannis  says in part: “The Southern border needs to be closed, and law enforcement officers need tools and resources necessary to keep our communities safe.”

Bo Hines says in part: “If elected, I will fight for a lockdown of our Southern border, and federal support to augment the excellent work law enforcement."

Jay Wagner says in part:  “I plan to take the same successful approach as our 6th District congressman as I had as mayor of High Point. As mayor, I led efforts to fully fund our police.”

Addison McDowell says in part: “We need to fire any federal officials who ever said “Defund the Police” was a good idea. Then we need to listen to what our law enforcement officers." 

Mark Walker says in part: " The crime that we’re seeing, a lot of it is out of control from the border. We’ve got to have federal laws to make sure that we do secure our border.”

Christian Castelli says in part "It starts with funding the police and coming up with sound policies to support our brothers in blue like qualified immunity.”