Addison Parker Mcdowell

Current office and 2026 campaign

Addison Parker McDowell (R) is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 6th Congressional District. Clerk of the House records show he was elected November 5, 2024 and sworn in January 3, 2025, with no prior congressional service ¹. He filed for re-election as a Republican on December 9, 2025 and is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot against Democrat Cyril Jefferson ³. No Republican primary was held for the seat in 2026; Jefferson won a four-way Democratic primary on March 3, 2026 with 15,274 votes, about 39.2 percent of the votes recorded in that primary, ahead of Alysa Kassay (13,316), Keith Davenport (6,569) and Beau Blair (3,848) ³⁴.

Under the lines used for the 2026 election, NC-06 covers Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford and Rowan counties ³.

His principal campaign committee (FEC candidate ID H4NC06177) reported $1,226,407.96 in receipts, $852,002.85 in disbursements and $381,728 cash on hand for the 2026 cycle through June 30, 2026 ⁵. His campaign site states that he "is running for re-election in North Carolina's 6th Congressional District and is endorsed by President Donald J. Trump" ⁶.

McDowell is registered as a Republican voter in Davie County (Bermuda Run), with a registration date of August 26, 2024; the state voter file lists his birth year as 1994 ⁷.

Background and education

McDowell's official House biography describes him as "a native of Lexington, North Carolina" and states that he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte ². His campaign biography states that he was raised in Davidson County in "a Christian family where church was always a priority" and that he attended UNC Charlotte "thanks in part to a Baptist scholarship" ⁶.

Career

Before his election, McDowell served on the congressional staffs of Rep. (now Sen.) Ted Budd and Rep. Richard Hudson, "where he spent each day helping constituents in need," according to his official House biography ². In December 2023, NC Newsline described him as "a registered lobbyist for Blue Cross Blue Shield" ⁸.

Legislative record and accomplishments

Per Clerk of the House member data published July 6, 2026, McDowell serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Subcommittees on Aviation; Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation; and Highways and Transit), the Committee on Natural Resources (Subcommittees on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries; and Indian and Insular Affairs), and the Committee on the Budget ¹. His official House biography lists the same three full committees ².

That biography states that his "top priority in Congress is to tackle the drug crisis and strengthen border security to protect families and communities from the dangers posed by illegal immigration," and attributes this to "the tragic loss of his younger brother, Luke, to a fentanyl overdose" ².

Measures his office announced introducing in the 119th Congress include: the Clarity for Opioid-Use Reduction and Expenditures (CURE) Act on oversight of federal opioid grant spending (July 10, 2025); the Ban on Inkless Directives and Executive Notarizations (BIDEN) Act, to bar autopen signatures on bills, executive orders, pardons and commutations (July 15, 2025); the Accelerated Logistics and Coordination for Arresting, Transporting, and Removing Aliens Zones (ALCATRAZ) Act, described by his office as "legislation to support state-run detention facilities for illegal aliens by redirecting wasteful Biden-era spending" (August 22, 2025); the bipartisan Kidd's Stuttering Act with Rep. Shomari Figures (D-AL) (December 2, 2025); the Protecting Children from Foreign Mutilation Act, described by his office as "designed to close a dangerous loophole that allows foreign doctors and clinics to perform irreversible gender transition procedures on American children overseas and then freely enter the United States without repercussions" (December 18, 2025); the Preventing Rogue Equipment for Synthetic Substances (PRESS) Act, H.R. 7184, on imported pill-press machines (January 21, 2026); the MTS CYBER Act on Coast Guard cybersecurity (February 20, 2026); the Pregnancy Loss Mental Health Research Act with Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) (May 29, 2026); and the Broadband Infrastructure Extension Act (June 29, 2026) ⁹.

His office also reports that an amendment he offered to the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act passed the House by voice vote on September 9, 2025, that he attended the July 2025 White House signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act, and that as of February 2026 he had secured $12,937,032 in community project funding for the 6th District ⁹.

Documented disputes and controversies

McDowell's entry into the 2024 NC-06 race drew attention because Donald Trump endorsed him, a first-time candidate, over better-known Republicans already in the field. Under the subhead "Addison who?", NC Newsline reported on December 14, 2023 that "McDowell, a registered lobbyist for Blue Cross Blue Shield, has no bio or policy platform on his website as of this writing, simply a banner declaring that he is 'the Trump Endorsed candidate.'" The same report noted that the endorsement came days after Trump had publicly praised another candidate in the race, Bo Hines, at a New York Young Republican Club event ⁸.

In the March 5, 2024 Republican primary, McDowell finished first with 21,285 votes out of 81,492 cast, or 26.1 percent, ahead of former Rep. Mark Walker with 19,633, or 24.1 percent ¹⁰. Because no candidate reached North Carolina's 30 percent threshold, Walker was entitled to request a runoff and initially said he intended to. On March 13, 2024, Walker instead took a position with Trump's presidential campaign; NC Newsline reported that "Walker's exit hands the district to Trump-endorsed, first-time candidate Addison McDowell" ¹¹. McDowell won the November 5, 2024 general election with 233,303 votes to Constitution Party candidate Kevin E. Hayes's 104,017, or 69.2 percent to 30.8 percent of the two-candidate vote ¹².

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