Congressional District 5: Foxx (R) vs. Adams (D)

Rating: Likely Republican

Voter Registration by Race: 79% White, 16% Black, 4% Hispanic, 2% Other

Voter Registration by Party: 38% Republican, 33% Democratic, 28% Unaffiliated

2016 Presidential Election Result: 57% Trump, 40% Clinton, 3% Other

Located in northwestern North Carolina, CD-05 stretches from the state’s mountainous western border to the city of Winston-Salem. The district is predominantly rural – other than Winston-Salem (Forsyth County) and a small portion of Hickory (Catawba County), none of its municipalities have populations topping twenty-five thousand. Winston-Salem is also the district’s only Democratic stronghold, and along with the college town of Boone (Watauga County), the only part of the district that can be expected to vote Democratic at all. Indeed, CD-05 was drawn to favor Republicans, separating Winston-Salem from the rest of the Piedmont Triad and pairing it with rural GOP strongholds in the Foothills and the Blue Ridge in order to dilute Democratic influence. The district’s rural areas are some of the reddest in North Carolina – in 2016, Donald Trump won over 70% of the vote in each CD-05 county not mentioned so far, contributing to his fourth-best performance out of the state’s thirteen districts.

2018 Candidates	Total Raised (2017-2018)	Total Spent (2017-2018)	Cash on Hand (June 2018)	Debts Owed (June 2018)
Virginia Foxx (R)	$1,749,825.80	$1,032,766.39	$3,144,347.82	$00.00
DD Adams (D)	$196,549.81	$176,983.12	$19,566.69	$1,500.00

 

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx was first elected to represent CD-05 in 2004, succeeding Richard Burr upon his election to the United States Senate. Foxx, a resident of the small town of Banner Elk in Watauga County, has become prominent in the GOP leadership ranks, having served as Secretary of the House Republican Conference and currently chairing the House Education and the Workforce Committee. She has also remained popular among her constituents, having won at least 57% of the vote in each of her reelection bids. This year, Foxx – who won over 80% of the GOP primary vote against two opponents in May – will compete in the general election against Democrat DD Adams, a member of the Winston-Salem City Council who has served in that capacity since 2009. Adams became the district’s Democratic nominee after a heated primary battle in which she won only her home county of Forsyth against progressive activist Jenny Marshall. Largely due to her expensive primary race, Adams has already spent most of the relatively little money she has raised, giving Foxx a roughly 160-1 advantage in cash on hand as of the end of June. Although Adams has developed a solid campaign infrastructure and can tout her experience as an elected officeholder, she has struggled to make inroads outside of Winston-Salem, particularly in the district’s rural areas where Marshall dominated in the primary. In a district drawn to favor the GOP, the popular Foxx has a clear advantage in fundraising and name recognition, making her a likely bet to win an eighth term.