State Sen. Jeff Jackson won the Democratic primary for the Charlotte area’s new 14th U.S. House District on Tuesday and will face Republican Pat Harrigan in November.
Jackson beat Ram Mammadov with 86% of the vote, according to preliminary results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Harrigan, meanwhile, beat Jonathan Simpson with 76% of the votes in the GOP primary.
The 14th District is brand new, the result of North Carolina’s growing population. It’s split between Mecklenburg and Gaston counties. It’s expected to lean Democratic in the fall, but there’s a chance the GOP could win.
Jackson is a state lawmaker, attorney and Army National Guard officer from Charlotte whose political profile has been growing in recent years. He initially entered the race for U.S. Senate but dropped out as support swelled around former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who won her Democratic primary Tuesday night.
Harrigan is a U.S. Army veteran and business owner.
In Charlotte’s other U.S. House District, the 12th, incumbent Rep. Alma Adams won the Democratic primary with 92% of the vote over challenger John Sharkey. On the Republican side, Tyler Lee won with 43% of the vote.
The 12th District is heavily expected to lean Democratic in the fall.
