NC-11 Candidate Forum
Clay County Democrats are partnering with neighboring North Carolina counties and organizations to host a joint candidate forum. All attending NC-11 Democratic Congressional candidates will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and respond to questions in a panel discussion format. This is your chance to meet the candidates, hear their priorities, and learn where they stand on the issues that matter most to our district.
This event page will be updated as new details are unveiled during the organization progress.
The current list of candidates follows, and all have confirmed to participate in our Candidate Forum:
- Zelda Briarwood – from Canton.Works in direct care and as an advocate.
- Jamie Ager – CEO and co-founder of Hickory Nut Gap Farm. His brother is in the NC General Assembly and family has a history of service in government. Lives in Fairview
- Richard Hudspeth, M.D. – Family Practice Physician lives in Hendersonville. He served as CEO of Blue Ridge Health.
- Jacob Lawrence – He is 26 years old and his issues are gerrymandering and campaign finance reform among others.
- Paul Maddox – Cancer researcher at UNC Chapel Hill and two-time entrepreneur.
You can learn more about each of the candidates by visiting their candidate websites at our 2026 Primary Candidates Page here.
It is interesting to me that according to the North Carolina Board Of Elections website Jacob and Paul do not live in NC 11.
I heard they were planning to move into the District before the filing deadline.
The candidate filing period is December 1-19 so this list may change.
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To: WNC Democrat County Chairs and other interested Parties (10/29/25)
Topic: Update on Candidate Forum for Democrats seeking US House Seat for District 11, North Carolina
This is a short update on progress to sponsor a Candidate Forum for Democrats seeking to represent the NC 11th District in the US House.
In the past few weeks, each Dem County Chair in WNC – (Clay, Cherokee, Swain, Graham and Macon) – as well as other interested parties (e.g., Tri-County Democratic Women) – have been contacted to see if they would be interested in supporting a voter contact Forum – all were supportive.
In addition, all currently known candidates were contacted and asked if they would participate. To-date, (3) have said they would. Accordingly, organization for this US Rep NC 11 candidate Forum is underway.
Details
Date: Saturday, January 17. (Weather back-up: Jan 30).
Time: 12:30 to 3:00PM
Location: Hinton Center
2330 Hinton Center Rd (just E of Hayesville, off US 64
Hayesville, Clay County, NC 28904
(site was previously used for this purpose – 828-389-8336)
Other: Adjacent entry area provides space for candidate materials.
No food or beverages served.
Working Group: Each participating County should designate a contact person for on-going coordination, candidate questions, etc. Please reply to catlyost@gmail.com with name, phone and electronic address.