I have worn a lot of hats in my life: soldier, teacher, husband, father.
Now I am proud to say I am running to represent North Carolina’s 9th District in Congress.
Here’s why.
Everywhere I go across NC-09, whether it is a fish fry in Alamance county, a community hall in Hoke county or a car show in Moore county, I hear the same thing.
People feel like Washington does not see them anymore.
Folks are working harder than ever, but the bills keep piling up. Veterans cannot get the VA care they were promised. Teachers are burned out and underpaid. Families are worrying about their future while the politicians they send to DC are worried about their donors.
That is not the way it is supposed to be. And it sure is not the way I see it.
We Deserve Better Than Politics as Usual
I have spent my life in service: 24 years in the United States Army, then as a teacher in our public schools, and later as a state senator. None of that was about politics. It was about people.
Service is about putting others before yourself, and that is the spirit I am bringing into this campaign.
The truth is simple: Washington is broken because it works for the wealthy and the well connected.
Lobbyists get what they want. Big corporations get what they want. But regular people like veterans, farmers, nurses, teachers, parents are the ones paying the price.
I am running to change that.
I am running because I believe North Carolina deserves a representative who does not sugarcoat the truth, who does not bow to special interests, and who will fight for working families.
Standing Up for Veterans and Their Families
I know firsthand what veterans give to this country, and I know the frustration of seeing them left behind.
Too many veterans are waiting months for appointments, fighting paperwork just to get the benefits they have earned, or battling invisible wounds without enough support.
In Congress, I will push to expand VA healthcare in North Carolina, strengthen mental health services, and protect pensions that veterans depend on.
When I say “no veteran gets left behind,” I mean it. Because service does not stop when the uniform comes off.
Healthcare Is a Right, Not a Privilege
No North Carolinian should ever have to choose between putting food on the table and paying for healthcare.
But right now, too many families are making those impossible choices.
I will fight to expand Medicaid, protect Medicare, and make sure body autonomy and reproductive freedom stay protected in North Carolina. Healthcare is a right. Period.
And if that makes the big insurance companies and Washington lobbyists mad, so be it. I do not work for them. I work for you.
Fighting for Workers, Farmers, and Families
Everywhere I travel in this district, I meet people working themselves to the bone just to stay afloat.
Farmers who keep our tables fed but get squeezed on every side.
Parents who are working two or three jobs and still cannot get ahead.
Teachers who pour their heart into their classrooms and still have to fight for a living wage.
I will fight for higher wages, repeal so called “right to work” laws that weaken unions, and invest in skilled trades so young people have opportunities without drowning in debt.
I will stand with farmers, because feeding America should not mean going broke.
Protecting Social Security and Retirement Security
Social Security is not a handout, it is a promise.
You worked for it. You paid into it. It belongs to you.
I will fight any attempt to raise the retirement age or slap new penalties on working people.
I will protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from those who want to gut them.
Protecting our seniors is about protecting the dignity and security every North Carolinian deserves.
This Campaign Belongs to the People
Here is the biggest difference between my campaign and the folks I am running against: I am not for sale.
I do not take a dime from corporate PACs or special interests. This campaign is funded by small-dollar donations, powered by volunteers, and built by neighbors who believe in standing shoulder to shoulder.
You will find me in the community, not at high-dollar fundraisers. I am not hiding behind consultants or poll tested talking points.
When I say I am here to represent you, it is because I have been standing with you all along.
Join the Movement for NC-09
I am not asking you to believe in politics.
I am asking you to believe in people.
Because when we come together, when we organize, and when we fight, we win.
If you want a representative who will listen, who will show up, and who will never stop fighting for veterans, workers, families, and seniors, then I am asking you to join me.
Volunteer with this campaign. Knock on doors, make calls, talk to your neighbors.
Be part of the movement that puts North Carolina’s 9th District back where it belongs: in the hands of the people.