CHARLOTTE — District 5 includes Alexander, Caldwell, Watauga, and Ashe Counties in the United States House of Representatives.
Republican candidate Virginia Foxx is running to maintain the spot she has held since 2005.
This year, Foxx is facing primary challenges from Roman H. Williams, Joseph Osborne, and Steve Girard. On The Democratic side, Kyah Creekmore and Chuck Hubbard are running for the seat.
Foxx and Hubbard did not respond to our candidate guide. We will update the candidate guide with their answers if we receive them.
Kyah Creekmore (D)
What is your occupation? I’m a Community Organizer and Congressional Candidate.
Over the last year, we have heard terms like “affordability crisis” and concerns from the state about health care affordability. Do you think there is an “affordability crisis,” and if so, what should be done to solve it? Yes. Costs have outpaced wages for decades and are now accelerating due to legislative malpractice and failure to regulate powerful industries. Healthcare, housing, food, and utilities are increasingly unaffordable for nearly every income level outside the top fraction of earners. To solve this, we must aggressively enforce antitrust laws at an expedited pace, similar to New Deal–era trust busting, to break up monopolies that have eliminated competition and inflated prices. Universal healthcare would immediately lower household costs by reducing out-of-pocket expenses. We must also expand affordable housing as median home prices have become unattainable for working families. Finally, I support creating legally binding mechanisms for direct democratic action so residents can force action when government fails to respond.
What should the role of the United States be in Venezuela, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Palestine conflict? In Venezuela, the United States should end intervention and leave the country alone. Decades of regime-change efforts and sanctions have failed and worsened civilian suffering.
In Ukraine, Russia is an invading power and Ukraine is a sovereign ally. The U.S. should impose maximum sanctions on Russia, fully support Ukraine militarily and economically, and pressure NATO members to meet their commitments. Ukraine deserves real security guarantees, not negotiations that reward invasion. Then when war is settled, stay out of other foreign affairs and focus all support for Americans at home.
U.S. policy toward Israel and Palestine must fundamentally change. Israel has received billions in unconditional U.S. support while extensive reporting from international journalists, medical professionals, and human rights organizations has documented grave abuses in Gaza, including children killed by sniper fire, repeated strikes on hospitals and journalists, mass destruction of entire cities, obstruction of humanitarian aid resulting in man-made famine, and widespread civilian death. I support an immediate cutoff of weapons transfers and military aid, an end to automatic diplomatic cover, and full accountability for war crimes through international legal processes. The United States must not fund or defend collective punishment or violations of international law.
Are you in favor of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration? What immigration reform measures do you support? Absolutely not. I do not support Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. These policies are fear-based political posturing designed to generate donations and headlines while many of the same politicians vote against real immigration reform year after year. The chaos is useful to them. The longer the crisis continues, the longer they can campaign on it.
Enforcement-first approaches have separated families, expanded abusive detention systems, and granted immigration enforcement agencies excessive legal immunity, allowing them to operate with virtually no accountability. This immunity has contributed to documented abuses, including an ICE agent fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis during a federal operation, and other aggressive tactics that have terrorized communities without meaningful oversight. Serious concerns that rushed hiring, weakened vetting and minimal training standards for immigration enforcement recruits has brought in “Proud Boys” and other far right white supremecists, further eroding trust in a system that already lacks transparency and restraint.
These enforcement tactics protect corporate interests tied to wealthy landowners and for-profit prisons and detention centers, expand exploitative labor dynamics, and dehumanize entire communities. I support comprehensive immigration reform that expands legal pathways to citizenship, protects asylum seekers, keeps families together, modernizes processing, enforces labor protections, and holds both employers and law enforcement accountable. Immigration policy should be rooted in human dignity, the rule of law, and transparency, not fear, profiteering, or political theater.
What sets you apart from your opponents? I am not funded by corporate PACs, special interests, or industries that profit from keeping systems broken. I come from a background where my own family would be directly impacted by dangerous or harmful legislation, which creates a real safeguard against allowing policies that cause damage to pass unchecked. If proposed legislation does not materially improve conditions for my family and community, it is not good enough for the country. Unlike my opponents, I am willing to name institutional failure, challenge monopolies and corruption directly, and remain accountable to people rather than party leadership or donors. My campaign is grounded in community engagement, transparency, and measurable outcomes, not political careerism or performative politics.
Roman H. “Chad” Williams II (R)
What is your occupation? General contractor
Over the last year, we have heard terms like “affordability crisis” and concerns from the state about health care affordability. Do you think there is an “affordability crisis,” and if so, what should be done to solve it? Yes, I think there’s an affordability crisis. I have two sons in their 20s with great jobs and yet they don’t see homeownership as a reality. This is even more concerning considering I’m a general contractor. Wages have stagnated over the last 30 years and corporate involvement in housing has caused spikes outside of normal growth norms. The cost of healthcare and daily items that we all need to live on have spiked as well. There’s enormous wealth in America, and those billionaires made their monies on the backs of Americans. I think it’s time for them to kick in to ease the burden on the middle class. And I’m even less sympathetic towards them since they have been the bad actors behind a lot of the division in America.
What should the role of the United States be in Venezuela, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Palestine conflict? I was not a fan of invading Venezuela and capturing its president. This is seen by the world as overreach or an act of war. We are the premier military in the world, and we should be protecting lesser nations from bullies like Russia, China, and unfortunately the USA as of late. The Ukraine Russia war could’ve easily been over by now with American support. Vladimir Putin is responsible for over 1 million dead. He is also an international war criminal with crimes against civilians and children. There have been over 30,000 abducted Ukrainian children. There have been over 400 tortured and murdered evangelical pastors in Ukraine and their churches destroyed. I think it is no coincidence that our current president has a picture of Putin with him in the White House and he rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a small action from the Hamas attack against Israel and turned it into widespread destruction in Gaza. A place where Donald Trump said that he was going to build the Trump Riviera. This coupled with the potential security threats from Epstein and his ties to the Israeli intelligence saga leaves much accountability to be had. We have a long way to go to restore trust in America and among the NATO allies.
Are you in favor of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration? What immigration reform measures do you support? I am for enforcement of the law. However, I’m not for the systematic destabilization of the courts whereby immigrants can’t be processed and remain in limbo. This limbo status has now been turned into illegal status by the current administration. That coupled with the overreach of ICE and border patrol have been an unprecedented time in my life. Ronald Reagan said that if you love your country, you must also love your country man. He called America the shining city on the hill and made reference to immigrants as being a life blood of American progress. I hold more traditional conservative, Republican values like Reagan. I would be in favor of taking these billions of dollars we’re spending on ICE enforcement and instead using the funds fortifying the courts with judges and prosecutors to be able to provide due process and follow the law according to the constitution and the Bill of Rights.
What sets you apart from your opponents? I think it’s pretty simple. I will follow the rule of law as required by my faith in Christ and my service to the Constitution. I’m an ambassador of Christ and his teachings tell me to love my neighbor. I’m a combat veteran who took an oath to defend the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. Therefore, my decisions have to be in line with the constitution and the gospels. Decisions that would benefit the rich and powerful over the people of the fifth district wouldn’t happen on my watch. I would only accept corporate donations and proposals that benefit the people of the fifth district. There’s been too much corporate money flowing to politicians and that needs to end. My hero John McCain worked across the aisle to build consensus and get things done for Americans. He was working on Campaign finance reform and I would continue that work as I bring dignity and honor back to the Republican Party and the United States. I understand this is no small task.
Joseph “Joey” Osborne (R)
What is your occupation? I am a lifelong entrepreneur and business builder. I have started, grown, and managed multiple companies, primarily in service industries, creating jobs and working directly with customers and employees for decades.
Over the last year, we have heard terms like “affordability crisis” and concerns from the state about health care affordability. Do you think there is an “affordability crisis,” and if so, what should be done to solve it? Yes, we are absolutely facing an affordability crisis, not just in health care but across nearly every part of daily life. The core problem is that government policies often increase costs while reducing real competition and accountability. In health care, we need transparency in pricing, fewer middlemen, more competition across state lines, and policies that empower patients rather than insurance companies or large hospital systems. Affordability improves when markets work and when government stops distorting them.
What should the role of the United States be in Venezuela, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Palestine conflict? America should lead with strength, clarity, and restraint. Our role should be to defend our national interests, support stability, and avoid endless foreign entanglements that lack clear objectives. In Ukraine, we should pursue a realistic path to peace while protecting U.S. security interests. In Israel, we should support our ally’s right to defend itself while encouraging regional stability. In Venezuela, the focus should be on supporting democratic outcomes without committing U.S. taxpayers to open-ended interventions.
Are you in favor of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration? What immigration reform measures do you support? Yes, I support enforcing the law and securing the border. A nation without borders is not a nation. At the same time, we need a functional immigration system that is fair, efficient, and humane. That includes securing the border, fixing asylum abuse, expanding legal immigration where it benefits the economy, and holding employers accountable. Enforcement and reform must go hand in hand.
What sets you apart from your opponents? I am not a career politician, and I am not backed by party leadership or special interests. I have spent my life solving real problems in the real world, balancing budgets, making payroll, and being accountable for results. I am running to represent people, not a party, and to change a political system that rewards insiders while ignoring everyday Americans. My focus is practical solutions, honesty, and accountability.
Steve Girard (R)
What is your occupation? Retired
Over the last year, we have heard terms like “affordability crisis” and concerns from the state about health care affordability. Do you think there is an “affordability crisis,” and if so, what should be done to solve it? There is, but we also have an accessibility crisis. We need to stop the political bickering over Obama Care and help our neighbors. Open insurance across state lines. Money to insureds, not healthcare companies. Open up tele-health.
What should the role of the United States be in Venezuela, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Palestine conflict? All very different. I believe we were correct in arresting Maduro and stopping there. The Ukraine-Russia war worries me that Europe seems disinterested. The corruption in Ukraine is a huge concern. We need to work for peace, but the money train needs to stop. Finally, Israel. We must continue to support Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East. If we allow them to fall, the Middle East will be lost forever.
Are you in favor of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration? What immigration reform measures do you support? Yes. Sometimes I worry about the optics we see in the news. But the Left is creating that. We can’t stand down and give into anti-American agitators.
What sets you apart from your opponents? Accountability. There is zero accountability in Congress. They don’t hold themselves accountable and they don’t hold each other accountable. Seniority matters more than results. I spent 40 years in the private sector, I was accountable everyday to my employees, customers, and owners. I am taking no campaign donations, so no one will own me. I favor therm limits, so I have no interest in playing swamp games and building a twenty year career. I want to make a difference and come home.
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