Twenty-six candidates filed to run in the special election to fill North Carolina’s vacant 3rd Congressional District seat. The candidates include six Democrats, 17 Republicans, one Constitution Party candidate, and two Libertarians. The vacancy occurred when former Rep. Walter Jones (R) died on February 10. Jones had held the seat since 1995.

Primaries are scheduled for April 30, and primary runoffs are scheduled for July 9. The general election will be held September 10. However, if no primary runoffs are needed, the general election date will be moved up to July 9. The filing deadline was March 8.

Republicans currently hold eight of the state’s 13 U.S. House seats and both of its U.S. Senate seats. Democrats hold three U.S. House seats, and two seats are vacant. Entering the 2019 special election, the U.S. House has 235 Democrats and 198 Republicans. A majority in the chamber requires 218 seats.