Republicans in Western North Carolina are grumbling about his last-minute announcement, which boxed out a number of elected officials.
Rep. Mark Meadows’ shock retirement — revealed just 30 hours before the filing deadline in North Carolina — has roiled some Republicans in the state who suspect he timed his announcement to benefit a friend of his wife.
The four-term congressman will depart the House for an as-yet-undefined role with President Donald Trump, a decision he disclosed in an interview with POLITICO Playbook that published around 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, ahead of the filing deadline at noon on Dec. 20.
Later that day came a campaign launch by Lynda Bennett, a local GOP activist and real estate agent who is friendly with Debbie Meadows, the congressman’s wife, according to sources who know both women.
Wary Republicans in the state quickly speculated that she had advance notice of Meadows’ retirement.
Online records revealed her campaign website domain had been registered on Oct. 28 by a Scott Meadows, who appears to be the brother of the congressman. The campaign’s Facebook page was created on Dec. 18, a day before the retirement. And shortly after midnight on Dec. 19 — about five hours before Meadows announced — Bennett posted photos of herself with the congressman and his wife at local GOP events in the state.
After launching her run, Bennett was quickly endorsed by the Asheville Tea PAC, a local organization which said in a release that its board convened for a 6:15 a.m. conference call on the day of Meadow’s announcement to throw support behind a successor.
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Ultimately, a dozen Republicans filed before the deadline, but the field is notably devoid of local politicians who would typically flock to an open-seat race.
While Meadows’ announcement came before the final deadline, it was two days after the deadline for candidates who had already filed for one office to withdraw and switch to another office, boxing out any state legislator in the district who had filed for reelection but harbored congressional ambitions. The only North Carolina lawmaker running is state Sen. Jim Davis, who had not filed for reelection to the General Assembly because he was planning to retire.
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Rep. Mark Meadows' shock retirement has roiled some North Carolina Republicans who suspect he timed his announcement to benefit a friend of his wife https://t.co/v1uNzm4IfK
— POLITICO (@politico) December 30, 2019
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