The Republican Second Primary Election between Lynda Bennett and Madison Cawthorn in the 11th Congressional District will now be held six weeks later than originally scheduled.

There’s a strong, long-held sentiment here in rural Western North Carolina that the region is often overlooked when balanced against the state of North Carolina as a whole, but unofficial results from the March 3 Primary Election show that the counties that make up this rugged, mountainous region are more important politically than ever before. 

A tweet issued by President Donald Trump on the evening of March 6 made Rep. Mark Meadows’ next move pretty clear, but clarity’s in short supply when it comes to who will represent the 16 counties of Western North Carolina in Congress for the rest of the year. 

After more than two months of speculation as to his next move, Western North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows will become President Donald Trump’s next chief of staff, as declared by the president in a tweet earlier tonight.

Audio purporting to depict the full context of a discussion in which Lynda Bennett can be heard expressing disdain for President Donald Trump raises serious doubts about allegations that she’s a “never Trumper.”

There are plenty of arguments for getting money out of politics, but anybody who wants to get money out of politics must first have money to get into politics to get money out of politics.

(Editor's note: This story was originally published on Feb. 22, but has been updated with new information as of Feb. 25.)   

A Smoky Mountain News investigation into a mysterious handout distributed at polling places during early voting casts serious aspersions on the legitimacy of an endorsement of congressional candidate Lynda Bennett by a previously unknown, hastily formed political action committee with ties to one of her campaign consultants.

Last September at a Macon County GOP event, Franklin Republican and five-term Sen. Jim Davis announced that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election to his seat in the North Carolina General Assembly. After a short speech by Davis, party officials whisked an American flag off a handsome white rocking chair and presented it to Davis as a sign of gratitude for 10 years of service in Raleigh as well as 10 years of service as a Macon County commissioner. 

Santa Claus was especially good to Western North Carolina Democrats this year, delivering from his sack one big item on their wish list, and stuffing their stocking  with another gift that wasn’t expected, but was met with great appreciation.

As first reported by Politico earlier this morning, Western North Carolina’s four-term Republican congressman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Asheville, will not seek a return to his NC-11 seat in 2020.