Former GOP Rep. Mark Walker fielding calls about dropping NC Senate bid, running for House

Former Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) has fielded phone calls from GOP officials in North Carolina and Washington urging him to drop his Senate bid and return to the House. 

Walker confirmed the calls in an interview with the Carolina Journal, though he said that he is still currently running for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) next year. 

Walker is one of three current or former Republican elected officials vying to replace Burr. He announced his campaign late last year, though what little polling there is in the GOP primary shows him trailing his two top rivals, former Gov. Pat McCrory and Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who has already been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Before running for the Senate, Walker served three terms in the House after emerging from the GOP primary to succeed longtime Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.). 

If Walker ultimately decides to drop out of the Senate race and mount another bid for the House, it’s unclear which district he would run in. 

He lives in the newly adopted 11th District, though running there would put him in contention with Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), who currently represents North Carolina’s 5th District, but has announced that she will run for reelection next year in the 11th District.

Walker could run in the state’s new 7th District, close to his current residence. Candidates are not required to live within a district to run for a congressional seat.