Who will succeed the late Walter Jones as Congressman from the Third District of North Carolina?

Article 1, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states: “When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.”

Gov. Roy Cooper will issue an order to the State Board of Elections to conduct an election in the Third District’s 22 counties.

At least three Republicans and two Democrats reportedly have said they will seek the office, which means party primaries must be held before the general election.

Some campaigning time is necessary before the primaries and the general election, so a final decision by the voters could likely be sometime in mid-summer.

The Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives posted this notice: “The Washington, DC, office and the district office of former Representative Walter B. Jones will continue to serve the people of the Third Congressional District of North Carolina under the supervision of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Representative Jones passed away on February 10, 2019.”

The last Third District Congressman to die in office was Samuel Brinson, a Democrat, in 1922.