Charles Marion Edwards (born September 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 48th district in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

from 2016 to 2023.

Early life and education

Edwards was born in Waynesville, North Carolina. He graduated from West Henderson High School in 1978 and studied business, accounting, and marketing at Blue Ridge Community College.

Career

Edwards joined

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in 1989, working as an operations manager until 1991, senior business consultant from 1991 to 1996, and development coordinator from 1996 to 1998. He also worked as the vice president of Henderson County Partners for Economic Progress. In 2013, he became a director of Entegra Financial Corporation. In 2020, Entegra merged with First Citizens Bank. Edwards was appointed to the North Carolina Senate in August 2016 after Tom Apodaca resigned. He defeated Democratic nominee Norman Bossert in 2016, and was reelected in 2018 and 2020. In 2024, Edwards held a ceremony and awarded

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with a French Fry Certification Pin, an award that he invented. Acting on a complaint filed by the Henderson County (North Carolina) Democratic Party, Edwards was sanctioned by the House of Representatives Communications Standards Commission on April 24, 2024, for making personal attacks against President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in email newsletters sent to constituents in May, June, July and December, 2023. Such attacks are prohibited by federal law and by rules of the House of Representatives when they are sent out as "mass communications" at taxpayer expense.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

On November 30, 2021, Edwards declared his candidacy for North Carolina's 11th congressional district in the 2022 election. The district was represented by freshman Republican incumbent

Madison Cawthorn David Madison Cawthorn (born August 1, 1995) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican P ...

. Cawthorn faced numerous scandals, had made a number of controversial statements, and was criticized by Edwards as an ineffective legislator. Edwards was also endorsed by U.S. Senator

Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis ( ; born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from North Carolina, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Tillis served in the North Carolina House ...

. On May 17, 2022, Edwards defeated Cawthorn in the Republican primary with 33.4% of the vote. Although he lost 12 of the district's 15 counties, he carried Buncombe, its most populous, by over 2,000 votes, exceeding his overall margin of 1,338. Edwards also defeated Cawthorn in Henderson County by 3,191 votes. Henderson County is home to both Edwards and Cawthorn.

Committee assignments

Source: * National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee (vice chair) * Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee

Caucus memberships

Source: * Congressional YIMBY Caucus (co-chair) * Congressional Aggregates Caucus * Congressional Fire Services Caucus * Congressional Pro-Life Caucus * Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus * Conservative Climate Caucus * Election Integrity Caucus * Fix Congress Caucus * Main Street Caucus * Problem Solvers Caucus *

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. In November 2024, Representative August Pfluger was elected as the chair of the RSC, ...

Political positions

Foreign policy

Israel

Edwards voted, with the 412–10 bipartisan majority, to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Canada and Greenland

Asked in 2025 whether he supported Trump's push to forcibly annex Canada and Greenland, Edwards answered, "No, I do not."

Immigration

In January 2024, Edwards introduced legislation which would prevent immigrants from being counted by the

United States census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

, for the purposes of determining the

United States congressional apportionment United States congressional apportionment is the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are distributed among the 50 states according to the most recent decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. ...

. In February 2024, Edwards posted a picture on X of a large migrant caravan in Mexico in order to criticize the immigration policies of the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

, suggesting that

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

was at fault for the migrants in the picture immigrating to the United States. However, the picture was taken in 2018, during the

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

Electoral history

U.S. House of Representatives

Personal life

Edwards and his wife, Teresa, have had two children. In 2018, his 36 year old son died from firearm suicide after a lengthy period of untreated depression, leaving a baby daughter and wife behind.

References

External links

Congressman Chuck Edwards
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Chuck 1960 births Living people People from Waynesville, North Carolina North Carolina Republicans Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Republican Party North Carolina state senators 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives