I first met Addison McDowell in February of 2024 when he was one of six candidates running in the Republican primary to represent the newly drawn 6th Congressional district which includes Southwest Guilford, Southern Forsyth, Northwest Cabarrus, Davie, Davidson, and Rowan counties, as well as Kernersville, High Point and Walkertown. Thanks to gerrymandering, the new district heavily favors Republican candidates, so incumbent Kathy Manning did not seek re-election. McDowell placed first in the primary garnering 26% of the vote with former Congressman Mark Walker coming in a close second. Walker declined to call for a run-off election and opted instead for a job with the Trump campaign. That gave McDowell a clear field with no Democratic opposition. He defeated Constitutional candidate Kevin Hayes in a landslide.
After graduating from UNC Charlotte, Addison cut his teeth in politics by serving in Ted Budd’s district office, and later by working as a lobbyist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. I caught up with the 31-year-old first-term congressman when he visited Triad Today while on Easter break. The following are highlights from our conversation.
Jim: Give us some personal background. Where did you grow up, what did your parents do?
Addison: I grew up in Davidson County and went to North Davidson High School. My dad was a pastor by trade, and he left the pulpit to go work at the Baptist Children’s Home. I grew up in a great house with two brothers. I live now in Davie County with my wife and two daughters.
Jim: You’ve been very active in trying to bring jobs back to North Carolina. Bring me up to speed on that.
Addison: We’ve seen a number of announcements already, like Merck is making a massive investment here. So is Scheider Electric. This district was hammered by NAFTA. You saw manufacturing jobs get up and walk away and they haven’t come back. Thankfully we have a president now who is putting Main Street first, and we want to bring those jobs back, and that’s what we’re seeing as we tour the district. We’re seeing construction sites for companies who will offer high-paying jobs, and I’m so proud of that.
Jim: Earlier this year you introduced a bill that would equip schools with fentanyl overdose prevention resources. What is that all about and what’s the status?
Addison: This is a bill that would train teachers on how to use naloxone and things that will reverse deadly overdoses from drugs like fentanyl. It will also provide education for students and teachers. My thing is any bill that addresses this problem, I don’t care how small it is, we’re going to do it. You think about it like a thousand-piece puzzle. This may be one piece, but I’ll work on all one thousand pieces.
Jim: And this is very personal to you.
Addison: Absolutely. I lost my little brother Luke to fentanyl poisoning in 2017 when he was only 20 years old, so it’s personal for me. But it’s personal for so many people. Jim, everywhere I go, people tell me that the same thing happened to someone they love. Everyone knows someone affected by this problem, so I’m proud to be fighting for all of those people too.
Jim: You’re also very active in supporting the Coast Guard. In what way?
Addison: The Coast Guard is our next line of defense when you think about securing the border. Drug trafficking is a billion-dollar industry. This problem is not going to stop because if you secure our southern and northern borders, where are they going to come from next? It’s our ports. Our Coast Guard is tremendously underfunded and we’ve got to give them the tools they need to stop this.
Jim: The previous administration allowed over 20 million immigrants to enter our country illegally. What are you doing to abate that situation?
Addison: We’re giving ICE and border patrol the freedom to do their job. Obviously, we want to provide additional funding for the wall, make our borders secure, and also hold the Mexican and Canadian governments accountable. I think you’ve seen that this administration is doing a great job already and that’s why we’ve seen a massive drop in illegal immigration.
Jim: Older folks are afraid because they keep hearing that Congress is going to cut Social Security.
Addison: That’s a lie that is being told to people to scare them, but it is simply not true. We have a bill that makes it so we cannot legally touch Social Security. So, one, we don’t want to, and two, we can’t.
Jim: Speaking of older folks, what have you learned from your parents or grandparents that have stood you in good stead as a congressman?
Addison: My grandma is a tough woman. I think she could probably still beat me at arm wrestling [laughs]. She worked at the lawn and garden section of Walmart for almost my whole life. She’s in her 90s now, but that’s the hardest-working woman I know. She’s one of two people that I will leave a meeting for with anyone to take her call.
For more information, visit McDowell.House.gov.
Catching up with Rep. Addison McDowell
I first met Addison McDowell in February of 2024 when he was one of six candidates running in the Republican primary to represent the newly drawn 6th Congressional district which includes Southwest Guilford, Southern Forsyth, Northwest Cabarrus, Davie, Davidson, and Rowan counties, as well as Kernersville, High Point and Walkertown. Thanks to gerrymandering, the new district heavily favors Republican candidates, so incumbent Kathy Manning did not seek re-election. McDowell placed first in the primary garnering 26% of the vote with former Congressman Mark Walker coming in a close second. Walker declined to call for a run-off election and opted instead for a job with the Trump campaign. That gave McDowell a clear field with no Democratic opposition. He defeated Constitutional candidate Kevin Hayes in a landslide.
After graduating from UNC Charlotte, Addison cut his teeth in politics by serving in Ted Budd’s district office, and later by working as a lobbyist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. I caught up with the 31-year-old first-term congressman when he visited Triad Today while on Easter break. The following are highlights from our conversation.
For more information, visit McDowell.House.gov.