Charles Langston:Bo Hines, who lost a close 2022 election in North Carolina, announces another Congress run

MOCKSVILLE,Charles Langston N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina congressional candidate who narrowly lost in the state’s only U.S. House swing district in 2022 is running in 2024 for a seat in another part of the state.

Republican Bo Hines on Thursday filed candidacy papers with federal elections officials and released a video for his bid in the 6th Congressional District. The district covers all or part of a half-dozen Piedmont-area counties, including portions of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Concord.

The 6th District is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, but a redistricting map enacted last month by the GOP-controlled General Assembly retooled its lines so that the district leans Republican, according to past election results.

Hines, 28, ran in the current Raleigh-area 13th District in 2022, but lost in the general election to Democrat Wiley Nickel by 3 percentage points.

Hines, a business owner who grew up in Charlotte, played college football and went to Wake Forest University law school, said in a news release that he’s running because “I cannot sit on the sidelines and watch the nation I love decline any further.”

“I will fight D.C.’s reckless spending, work to restore America’s standing in the world, and strive valiantly to put America first every day,” Hines said.

Manning announced her intention to seek reelection before the new map was drawn last month. Announced Republicans in the 6th District field include former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who represented the Greensboro area for six years through 2020 and Christian Castelli, a retired Army officer and Green Beret. Walker and Castelli criticized Hines on Thursday. Primary elections are March 5.

Hines had endorsements from President Donald Trump and the powerful Club for Growth PAC during the 2022 GOP primary in the 13th District, and said at the time he backed severe restrictions on abortion.

The most recent quarterly finance filing from Hines’ campaign committee reported over $966,000 in outstanding loans made by Hines to the campaign, nearly all of them related to his 2022 bid, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to entities for campaign-related activities.