Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-North Carolina) said early Wednesday that he was dropping his reelection bid after the House Ethics Committee recommended censuring him in a report that detailed “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two young female staffers.
“After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided to withdraw from my re-election campaign. I will complete my current term. Serving Western North Carolina has been the honor of my life,” he wrote on X at 3:32 a.m. Wednesday. “Thank you for your trust, prayers, and support. God bless WNC and America.”
Edwards was being challenged by Democrat Jamie Ager, a farmer from the mountainous swing district that Democrats see as a pickup opportunity as they seek to win back the House majority. This year, the House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, added the district to its “red-to-blue” list, signaling its intention to invest in the race.
In a statement following Edwards’s decision, the National Republican Congressional Committee said that the district “is a Republican seat and will remain that way this November.” Spokespeople for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Edwards dropping his reelection bid.
North Carolina law states that the party’s district executive committee will chose its nominee if there is a vacancy before the election. In this case, the Republican executive committee for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District would appoint the replacement candidate without holding another election.
The Ethics Committee confirmed in May that it opened an investigation into Edwards after receiving allegations that he “may have created or fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment.”
The committee said Monday it found no evidence that Edwards engaged in sexual activity with or explicitly propositioned any of his staffers. However, he was aware “that his excessive attention toward the young women had led to rumors and innuendo in the office,” the report said.
While Edwards believed that none of his conduct was intended as a sexual or romantic advance, his behavior patterns “would lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as such,” the committee found.
According to the report, Edwards gave staffers “lavish and recurrent gifts,” including jewelry totaling over $1,000, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cellphones. He was also found to have made comments on their appearance and clothing and sent notes “regarding his effusive affection,” the report said.
The report said he invited staffers to “intimate dinners and vacations,” including appearing on one occasion to take a private trip to Las Vegas with a staffer. Edwards booked rooms at the Bellagio for him and the staffer and promised to get them tickets to shows in the city, the report said.
When the staffer asked Edwards for ideas on what outfits to pack for the trip, Edwards texted: “A pair of jean shorts and a yellow blouse that you wore to a concert is baked into my memory, and a red dress you wore to a neighboring office event was a SHOW STOPPER!”
After the House committee released its recommendation Monday, Edwards’s attorneys said they had come to an “expeditious and unfounded resolution,” calling the recommended censure “extraordinarily harsh.”
On Monday, days before Edwards ended his campaign, a spokesman for the campaign told The Washington Post that the congressman was looking forward “to having his name cleared and will work to ensure that the full light of day is brought on this process and that every member of Congress and the public can see the attempt to harm the Congressman who has brought no harm to others.”
Censure is one of three ways the House can choose to discipline a member, the other two being a reprimand and an expulsion. If the House adopts the committee’s recommendation to censure Edwards, it also could vote to remove him from his committee assignments. He would still be able to vote on the floor. Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the chamber.
On Monday night, the Democratic Women’s Caucus called on Edwards to resign from Congress.
“There must be clear and significant consequences for sexual harassment of this level,” the caucus, led by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-New Mexico) said in a statement. The Republican Women’s Caucus did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
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