Sen. Kevin Corbin announced Monday morning he would not make a bid for U.S. Congress and will file to run for re-election serving State Senate District 50.
In the recent redistricting of the state, Macon County became part of a new 14th U.S. Congressional district. Congressman Madison Cawthorn has said he will not run for re-election in the district and would instead run in the 13th District.
Corbin said once Cawthorn made his announcement, his phone began ringing consistently with people encouraging him to run for Congress. However, after giving it thought he decided it was not the time.
“The decision for me was two-fold,” Corbin said. “One was personal for me and my family and what I thought was best for the district. Second, was whether we could win the seat.”
Corbin said research showed he had a good shot at winning, but felt he only had a couple of weeks to make the decision, and other people were making decisions based on what he chose to do. “My family was hesitant about such a quick decision,” he said.
Having served in the state General Assembly for three terms (two in the House and one in the Senate), Corbin has gained seniority, and if he gets re-elected will be in line for some leadership positions.
“Every member has a vote, and we all understand that, but seniority is certainly a factor when it comes to things such as chairing committees, influence with other senators, and possibilities of positions of leadership. Those are all factors in how well I am able to serve my district.”
The senator said he has a good working relationship with the three representatives in his district – Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), Mike Clampitt (R-Swain) and Mark Pless (R-Haywood).
“I hope that will continue and we will work together to serve the district,” Corbin said. “Through hard work and relationship building, we have brought more capital improvements to this district than we even thought possible just a year ago.”
Corbin said ultimately he felt he could better serve citizens of Western North Carolina as a state senator than as a freshman congressman in Washington, D.C.
He will file for re-election in when filing opens on Dec. 6. He said whether serving in Congress or the state senate, if elected his job is to represent the people of Western North Carolina. “For too many years, Western North Carolina has been ignored, especially on funding formulas,” he said. “My concern is the people who live west of Asheville and what we can best do to serve the people.”