Charles Marion Edwards (born September 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for

North Carolina's 11th congressional district North Carolina's 11th congressional district encompasses most of Western North Carolina. Since January 3, 2021, the district has been represented by Madison Cawthorn. Redistricting The 11th district has historically been known for its volat ...

since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 48th district in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

from 2016 to 2023.

Early life and education

Edwards was born in

Waynesville, North Carolina Waynesville is a town and the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains. As ...

. He graduated from West Henderson High School in 1978 and studied business, accounting, and marketing at Blue Ridge Community College.

Career

Edwards joined

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

in 1989, working as an operations manager until 1991, senior business consultant from 1991 to 1996, and development coordinator from 1996 to 1998. He also worked as the vice president of Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress. In 2013, he became a director of Entegra Financial Corporation. In 2020, Entegra merged with

First Citizens Bank First Citizens Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its primary subsidiary is First Citizens Bank. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated 57 ...

. Edwards was appointed to the North Carolina Senate in August 2016 after

Tom Apodaca Thomas Michael Apodaca (born November 8, 1957) is a lobbyist and former Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-eighth Senate district, including constituents in Buncombe, Henderson, and Transylvan ...

resigned. He defeated Democratic nominee Norman Bossert in 2016, and was reelected in 2018 and 2020.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

On November 30, 2021, Edwards declared his candidacy for

in the 2022 election. The district was represented by freshman Republican incumbent

Madison Cawthorn David Madison Cawthorn (born August 1, 1995) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. Cawthorn became the first me ...

. Cawthorn faced numerous scandals, had made a number of controversial statements, and was criticized by Edwards as an ineffective legislator. Edwards was also endorsed by U.S. Senator

Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis (born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from North Carolina since 2015. A Republican, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006, and began servi ...

. On May 17, 2022, Edwards defeated Cawthorn in the Republican primary with 33.4% of the vote. Although he lost 12 of the district's 15 counties, he carried Buncombe, its most populous, by over 2,000 votes, exceeding his overall margin of 1,338. Edwards also defeated Cawthorn in Henderson County by 3,191 votes. Henderson is home to both Edwards and Cawthorn.

Electoral history

U.S. House of Representatives

Personal life

Edwards and his wife, Teresa, have had two children. In 2018, his son died unexpectedly.

References

External links

Congressman Chuck Edwards
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Chuck 1960 births 21st-century American politicians Living people People from Waynesville, North Carolina Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Republican Party North Carolina state senators