By Jake Browning
The Franklin Press
Franklin – Macon County commissioner Karl Gillespie will officially announce his bid for the N.C. House of Representatives District 120 seat at Macon County GOP headquarters on Saturday.
Gillespie, a Republican, will seek to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Kevin Corbin, who is running for N.C. Senate 50th District seat currently held by Sen. Jim Davis, who is not seeking another term.
The House’s 120th District represents Macon, Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties.
Gillespie was elected to the Macon County Board of Commissioners in 2016. A fifth-generation resident of Macon County, he said he takes his responsibility to the county and its people very seriously.
When it became clear that a seat in the House was becoming available, he felt it was his time to serve Macon County and the rest of the district on a larger scale.
“I look forward to the opportunity to represent the people of the 120th district,” Gillespie said.
The seat will be on the ballot in the 2020 elections. Republican and Democratic primary elections are scheduled for March 3, 2020. The official filing period begins Dec. 2 at noon and ends at noon Dec. 20.
Corbin will join Gillespie at Saturday’s event to endorse him for the seat. Corbin said Gillespie would do a great job of bringing far-western North Carolina’s priorities to the forefront in the House, evidenced by his record in local government.
“I’m happy to see him file,” Corbin said. “My biggest concern when I decided to run for Senate was finding a strong advocate for our district to take my place. Karl is that advocate.”
Macon County GOP chair Carla Miller said the party is proud to have Gillespie making the run. She said he will follow in the footsteps of both Sen. Davis and Rep. Corbin as prime examples of the leadership that Macon County is capable of producing.
“Just like Jim Davis and Kevin Corbin, it’s an honor to have another man of that caliber from this little county in Western North Carolina represent us in Raleigh,” Miller said. “He’s done an excellent job as commissioner, he has a keen mind for business and he has a strong dedication to conservatism. We think he’s the best choice we could have hoped for here.”
The announcement event will be at GOP Headquarters on Highlands Road at noon Saturday. The event is open to the public.