ROCKINGHAM — Freshman Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, on Thursday announced his intent to run for election in the newly created District 52 for the N.C. House of Representatives.
The General Assembly recently approved new district maps for the House, Senate and Congressional districts in North Carolina.
Moss was elected to represent District 66 which also includes Montgomery County and a sliver of northeastern Stanly County.
But the redrawn map pairs Richmond with southeastern Moore County — pitting Moss against Rep. Jamie Boles, R-Moore.
“After several weeks of fervent prayer and consideration with my family, I’m humbled to announce that we are running for re-election to continue serving the people of District 52 in the NC House,” Moss said in a press release. “The people of our community deserve a strong conservative voice who will fight for their freedom, defend their rights, and honor our shared values. That is what we’ve done in our first term, and we look forward to extending our reach, delivering on our Republican principles to the people of Moore County.”
Moss was elected to the seat last November, defeating former District Court judge Scott Brewer, a Democrat. Brewer had been appointed in 2019 by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill out the remainder of Ken Goodman’s term after Goodman was appointed to the N.C. Industrial Commission.
The House seat representing Richmond County has long been held by a Richmond County resident.
Prior to Goodman, Wayne and the late Melanie Goodwin served a combined seven terms.
Moss is the first Republican to hold the seat.
“We are incredibly grateful for all of our friends and supporters in southern Moore County for reaching out with their encouragement to run for re-election,” Moss said. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to receive the trust and confidence of our neighbors and to serve as their voice in Raleigh, and we look forward to continuing to improve the Sandhills through our support of public safety, infrastructure enhancements, economic development, and quality education, free from ‘woke’ indoctrination. We still have legislative business to accomplish ahead of the next election, and I will continue to fight for our values and for the people of our district.”
Shortly after being sworn in, Moss was appointed by House Speaker Tim Moore as vice chairman of both the Transportation and Local Government committees, and to serve as a member on the Appropriations, Appropriations–Transportation, and Commerce committees.
Having served on the Richmond County Board of Commissioners for a decade, Moss seems an ideal fit for the Local Government Committee. Moss also has insight into the transportation arena as an engineer for CSX Transportation.
He was also elected freshman whip for the House.
Prior to going to Raleigh, Moss spent 10 years on the Richmond County Board of Commissioners, being the first Republican elected to the board in more than a century.
According to the press release, Moss is “an avid sportsman and member of the NRA” and “firmly supports and defends the 2nd Amendment.”
The release also states that Moss “co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the Governor from mandating vaccines, repealed the racist “Jim Crow” pistol purchase permit requirements, and fought against Critical Race Theory indoctrination in the K-12 public education system.”
Filing begins at noon on Dec. 6 and runs through noon on Dec. 17.
The RO will have more on the recent redistricting in a later story.
