There won’t be a second election in the GOP primary for North Carolina’s 6th District after all. Mark Walker, who represented the district in the Triad from 2015 to 2021, dropped out of the race.

Addison McDowell will be the Republican nominee for the heavily conservative district. McDowell won the most votes in the March 5 primary, but did not hit the 30% needed to avoid a second election. 

There is no Democrat running for the seat, so McDowell will most likely be the next U.S. House member for the 6th District. Former President Donald Trump endorsed McDowell for the seat.

Walker said he will instead go to work for Trump’s campaign. 

“As a Christian and former pastor, I look forward to working with faith leaders across the country to promote families, liberty, and opportunities for people and places long forgotten by Democrats,” Walker said.

“I’ll continue my work as a bridge-builder and am looking forward to bringing these skills to the Trump campaign,” he said. 

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he asked Walker to work with faith groups and minority communities ahead of the General Election. 

McDowell sent out his own statement Wednesday afternoon.

“I would like to commend Mark Walker for his passion for public service,” said McDowell. “I might be the younger of the two of us, but Mark Walker is the higher energy candidate. I’ve no doubt what feeds that energy is his passion for service. He ran a tough race and made me have to be a better candidate to win this thing. I don’t know what his future holds, but I have faith God has a great plan for Mark.”

“Of course, thank you to President Donald J. Trump for believing in me,” McDowell said. “I can’t wait to work in Congress to help him secure our Southern border and fight for the America First Agenda that protects and promotes American jobs as the top priority.”