{"biography":"Colby Watson is the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in North Carolina\u2019s 8th Congressional District in the 2026 election. He advanced from a contested Democratic primary on March\u202f3,\u202f2026, defeating Kevin Clark (37.1%) and Jesse Oppenheim (14.9%) with 47.9% of the vote (18,205 votes) and will face incumbent Republican Mark Harris in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election [1].\n\nBorn in Indian Trail and raised in Union County, North Carolina, Watson was homeschooled and earned a high\u2011school diploma without attending college. He later took courses at Central Piedmont Community College and has described himself as a lifelong learner despite not holding a formal degree [8][10].\n\nWatson\u2019s professional background is rooted in small\u2011business ownership. At age 25 he and his brother launched a construction and federal\u2011contracting firm that grew to employ more than 50 workers, handling projects for federal, state, and local infrastructure. He describes himself as a \u201csmall business owner (federal contractor)\u201d and has spent the past decade running that enterprise, giving him firsthand experience with job creation, supply\u2011chain challenges, and the impact of government procurement on local economies [10][16].\n\nHis campaign platform focuses on five broad areas. In housing, he pledges to curb institutional investors\u2019 dominance of the market to preserve homeownership for families [1][9]. On labor and farming, he emphasizes antitrust enforcement against monopolies that squeeze farmers and small businesses, drawing on his own experience as a business owner [1][9]. Healthcare policy centers on eliminating medical\u2011debt burdens and moving toward a system that prioritizes patients over profit, including support for the Medical Debt Relief Act [1][9]. Education priorities include protecting parents\u2019 rights to homeschool, increasing teacher pay, and expanding funding for special\u2011education and Title\u202fI schools [1][9]. Infrastructure investment is framed as a job\u2011creating, climate\u2011smart priority, while anti\u2011corruption measures include refusing lobbyist money, banning stock trades while in office, and rejecting special\u2011interest contributions [1][9][16].\n\nWatson\u2019s campaign has already generated modest fundraising, reporting $29,101.80 in total receipts and $27,271.31 in expenditures to date, according to Federal Election Commission filings for his principal campaign committee, \u201cCOLBY WATSON FOR CONGRESS\u201d [2][3]. He has also undertaken a high\u2011visibility \u201cwalk across the district\u201d campaign, planning to trek roughly 25 miles per day for a week\u2011long journey from Lumberton to the Charlotte suburbs, a stunt he says is meant to demonstrate commitment and connect directly with voters [16].\n\nWhile he has no prior elected office, Watson\u2019s background as a Union County native, husband, father of two, and longtime small\u2011business operator positions him as a candidate who argues he understands the everyday challenges of constituents in the district. His campaign website outlines a pledge to refuse lobbyist money, avoid stock trading while in office, and place loyalty to the American people above personal gain [7][15].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Colby Watson - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Colby_Watson)\n- [2] [WATSON, COLBY - Candidate overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H6NC08202/)\n- [3] [COLBY WATSON FOR CONGRESS - committee overview - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00920652/)\n- [7] [Colby Watson For Congress | Democrat for NC's 8th District](https://www.colbyforcongress.com)\n- [8] [About | Colby Watson For Congress](https://www.colbyforcongress.com/about)\n- [9] [Issues | Colby Watson For Congress](https://www.colbyforcongress.com/issues)\n- [10] [Colby Watson | The Election Hub](https://www.theelectionhub.org/mecklenburg-county/colby-watson/2026-primary/north-carolina)\n- [15] [Colby Watson | BallotReady](https://www.ballotready.org/people/colby-watson)\n- [16] [Watson to walk across 8th district in U.S. House campaign \u2013 Robesonian](https://www.robesonian.com/news/334482/watson-to-walk-across-8th-district-in-u-s-house-campaign)\n- [17] [Colby Watson \u2014 Donate via ActBlue](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/colbyforcongress)\n- [20] [North Carolina House District 8 Primary Election Live Results 2026 - NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/north-carolina-us-house-district-8-results)","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_008","county":"anson","county_count":14,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 08"},{"contest":"us_house_008","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Us House Of Representatives District 08"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Colby","fullname":"Colby Lawrence Watson","lastname":"Watson","middlename":"Lawrence","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_008","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 08","county":"anson","county_count":14,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"us_house_008","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 08","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"us_house_008","contest_title":"Us House Of Representatives District 08","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"us_house","office_title":"U.S. Representative","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Democratic candidate Colby Watson is running for U.S. House in NC\u20118, emphasizing housing affordability, small\u2011business support, healthcare reform, and anti\u2011corruption measures.","terms":[],"token":"20c0caf2966be14e"}