Hamilton mulls run for Congress in newly-drawn 7th District

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Congressional races across North Carolina could be getting a bit of a shake up, as state lawmakers finalize plans to redraw Congressional districts and move the congressional primary from March to June.

Those impacts could be felt in southeastern North Carolina.

NC Rep. Susi Hamilton told WWAY Friday afternoon she is considering throwing her hat into the ring for the newly-redrawn 7th Congressional District race. Hamilton, a Wilmington Democrat, says she still has plans to run for her 18th District NC House seat as well.

Can she even do that? Turns out she can thanks to all the changes being made this week in Raleigh to meet a federal court ruling on the constitutionality of North Carolina’s congressional districts.

If Hamilton does run, she would face J. Wesley Casteen for the Democratic nomination. He was the only Democrat to file for the race originally.

Hamilton says she has not made any final decisions yet, because there is just not enough information yet about how everything will shake out.

Casteen said he welcomes anybody to run as a candidate. However, he said the &th Congressional District is a Republican stronghold and he believes he is the best candidate to win the district back for the Democrats.