Democrats see opening for Barringer in NC-13 race against freshman Republican Knott

CLAYTON, N.C. — Johnston County resident Jennifer Gibbs cast her first ballot in the 1990s. She said she’s lost track of the number of times she voted Republican, but she’s switched to voting for Democratic candidates lately.

Gibbs, a retired business owner, said she isn’t happy with President Donald Trump or the current Republican Party. 

Some of her complaints are with the cost of living — Gibbs and her husband Charles are helping out their adult children and grandkids with gas and groceries. Others are with corruption in the government, immigration, and reproductive rights.

“I want to make sure that my granddaughter and my daughters keep all their rights,” Gibbs said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to vote Republican again, ever, because of Trump.”

Gibbs continued that streak Tuesday, when she cast a vote for Paul Barringer in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District.

Barringer, a healthcare consultant and former lawyer, is challenging freshman GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Knott for the seat. Knott, a former prosecutor and Trump-endorsed candidate, won the district after a primary runoff in 2024 against Kelly Daughtry.  

The Knott campaign did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.

State lawmakers redrew the 13th in 2023 to heavily favor a Republican. It was expected to be a safe GOP seat this year: Trump won it in 2024 by 17 points. 

However, Democrats have recently come to believe that the wave of voter sentiment against Republicans this year might open the door to a possible flip. Barringer started airing TV ads shortly before early voting started. Knott, who had not run ads this cycle, either, quickly followed suit. 

Election forecaster Cook Political report shifted the race from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican” last week, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the seat to its “Districts in Play” program at the start of October. 

The 13th district resembles a backwards “C,” curving around Raleigh and the more liberal parts of Wake County. It covers parts or all of eight counties, spanning from Caswell County in the north to a thin piece east of Raleigh before going down to Lee County, where Barringer lives.

“My thesis from the beginning was that if you took a gerrymandered district and you could run as a moderate candidate, then you might have a chance,” Barringer told NC Newsline at an early voting site in Clayton.

Last fall, Barringer rode his bike from his home in Lee County to Yanceyville, in the northwestern part of NC-13. A straight shot as the crow flies would be 66 miles, but through the district, Barringer said he rode for 183 miles, and it would’ve been more if he had touched every corner. 

As a result, he’s spent plenty of time on the road while campaigning. Barringer said he just went over 350,000 miles on his 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser a week or so ago, and he brings along his dogs, Billy and Penny, for company. 

“He is a ball of fire. He has so much energy, and he shows up all over the place,” U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat representing North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District, said. She’s been campaigning to support Barringer in his race. 

Barringer grew up on his family’s tree farm in Lee County. He graduated from public schools there, as well as Davidson College, the University of North Carolina School of Law and Princeton University. He spent about 20 years living in Maryland and working in Washington before returning to Lee County to care for his ailing mother.

“I’m really running to provide an independent voice for the district because I think the people of the district deserve a representative who will show up for them and represent their interests, as opposed to displaying loyalty to the president or a political party,” Barringer said.

Knott, the incumbent, has voted with the conservative congressional baseline 96% of the time, according to Heritage Action. His campaign website lists his priorities as securing the border, defending gun rights, and supporting school choice. 

Cooper rallies support one week into North Carolina’s early voting

A quadruplet, Knott lives in Raleigh’s North Hills neighborhood. It’s part of the neighboring 2nd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Deborah Ross since 2021. However, congressional candidates do not need to reside in the district they seek to serve.

Several early voters NC Newsline spoke with Tuesday said they didn’t know much about Knott, but planned to vote Republican down the ticket. Others said he’s a good representative.

Garner resident Lauri-Anne Disinger was volunteering for the GOP at an early voting site in Clayton. She said she’s met Knott at some of his events throughout the district.

“He’s very thorough,” Disinger said. “If he gets a question about a committee that he doesn’t know the answer to, he’ll go back and discuss with a member on the committee and get an answer for the person.”