By Miles Layton

Republicans, there has been a disturbance in the Force…

Harvey West Jr., chairman of the 1st Congressional District Republican Party, has resigned.

I reached out to West for comment – no answer.  

West’s letter of resignation was posted to social media by Conservative Chicks for NENC.

In a letter addressed to the NCGOP 1st Congressional District Executive Committee, dated Thursday, March 12, West expresses his gratitude for Republican support during his tenure as chairman. 

For the past seven years, I have had the distinct honor of serving as your district chairman. Being allowed to serve each of you in this role has undoubtedly been one of the crowning achievements of my life. I am truly thankful for the tremendous support I have received from the 1st Congressional District. 

My resignation will be effective upon the successful election of a new chairman.  

Sincerest Regards 

Harvey West Jr.  

Fast forward to the First District meeting next Saturday in Williamston, when a new chair will be elected to serve about a year remaining in West’s term. Leadership is Mary Helen Pelt Warren as 1st vice chair, Brent Heath as 2nd vice chair and Kelli Harmon as 3rd vice chair.

Friday, March 13, West’s wife, Kim Cotten-West, sent an email to Executive Committee party members seeking to fill the year remaining in her husband’s term as chairman, that was posted to social media by the Conservative Chicks for NENC.  

Dear Executive Committee, 

I am writing to respectfully seek your support and vote for the position of First District Chairman for the remainder of the 2025-27 term.  

My experience as District Chairman in the former Third Congressional District has provided me with valuable leadership skills and insight. 

Additionally, I have established strong working relationships within the First Congressional District through my involvement in various roles, including fundraising and event organization.  

I have attached a brief resume for your reference. If you have any questions or require further information, please feel free to contact me.  

Thank you for your consideration. I would greatly appreciate your support at the First Congressional District meeting on March 21.  

Kim Cotten-West

I’m not going to write this story like a gleeful mainstream media reporter who is absolutely jubilant whenever Republicans take a hit.  

Instead, I’m going to tell you what I know. 

Let’s start at the beginning, how First District Republicans got to this point.    

Tom Fiedler, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Executive Editor of the Miami Herald, wrote a story, probably from spoon-fed facts, for the Asheville Watchdog, a free, local, not-for-profit, nonpartisan(!?) news organization. It was founded in 2020 as a public service by veteran professional journalists and media executives living in and around Asheville, according to the media outlet’s website.    

Here’s the link to Fiedler’s story. I’m not going to rehash West’s past, or pretend I did a bunch of research and pretend it’s new news.  

If you’re from around Northeast NC, you’re likely familiar with West’s past.

However, local Republicans elected West four times because he’s committed to the party and has a track record of success. More on that in a minute.  

Fast forward to 2026 — West’s past became more of an issue and known to lefty journalists outside our region because of a bruising and ugly local primary cycle that produced stories that ricocheted near and far across the state. 

And well, Democrats took that talking point about West and ran with it.

March 13, the North Carolina Democratic Party posted this:  

For the last six years, North Carolina Republican judicial candidates have flocked east to an annual picnic to raise “big $$” at the home of a convicted child sex predator. Recent reporting detailed how Harvey L. West had “established himself as a fundraiser in a newly created space” by “seizing an opportunity to influence judicial candidates who are unaccustomed to raising money to campaign”.

As a result of his fundraising efforts, NCGOP leadership has continuously elevated West to leadership positions within the party. He even currently holds a position on their State Plan Of Organization committee. Justices and candidates like Paul Newby, Phil Berger Jr, and Sarah Stevens have all been photographed at this event.

Anderson Clayton, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party issued the following statement and challenge for those Supreme Court Justices that accepted funds from this event.

“We can’t trust our Supreme Court justices to keep our children safe if they’re kissing the ring of a known child predator in exchange for campaign contributions. Hosting a big annual fundraiser for Republican court candidates at the home of a convicted child sex predator shows that Republicans will always put their wealthy donors above our kids. At the very least, the justices that raised money with Harvey West should immediately donate those funds to an organization committed to stopping child trafficking and exploitation.” 

Since the release of the Epstein files, that’s rich coming from Democrats. Google Clinton, hot tub and Epstein.

Moving forward, I suspect that as the heat over West’s past became more of an issue and a distraction from the Republicans’ message, there may have been a moment for him, as when party leaders asked President Nixon to resign. 

Here’s something the mainstream media won’t tell you – West was effective as party chairman.    

West has led successful efforts to transform Northeastern NC from blue to red.  

When West was running for party chairman about a year ago, he talked about how Democrats dominated the political landscape in NE NC.   

“Prior to 2019, we were a D-17 district, and every two years since 2019, we have gone through a redistricting. And with every redistricting, the district got just a little bit better. We went from a D-17 to a D-1, which is a true toss-over,” he said in 2025 at the Tyrrell County GOP Convention.   

Flashback to November of 2024 — Democrat Don Davis did not secure a majority of the votes cast (49.5%/186,341 votes) in a three-way race, he narrowly defeated Republican Laurie Buckhout, a resident of Edenton, who captured 47.8%/180,034 votes with Libertarian candidate Tom Bailey garnering 2.6%/9,949 votes. That’s huge how a Republican came within a whisker of winning that race.

And as everyone knows, there’ll be a rematch between Davis and Buckhout in November of 2026 that’s sure to be a race to watch.  

West also spoke about the formation of a federal campaign account with more than $15,000 to help fund GOP candidates near and far across Northeast NC – so that’s encouraging news for Republicans who had far less party funds to contribute to local candidates in the past. 

Last note — whoever gets elected as chairman of the First Congressional District will have their work cut out for them as the November election cycle comes closer into view.  

From NC Senator Norman Sanderson’s speech – if party leaders and GOP voters don’t continue to organize and get out the vote to be victorious for the 2026 midterms, President Trump will come under siege from Democrats who hate him and will seek impeachment, same as they did twice before during his first term. 

“We got to keep our majority or we are going to lose our president,” Sanderson said. 

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