For the first time, tiny Davie County may become the home of a sitting United States Congressman. A newly crafted 13th District with Davie as its hub may spark a spirited race for an open seat. Already N.C. Sen. Andrew Brock of Mocksville has said he will run. Well-respected District Court Judge Jimmy Myers of Advance is considering the race. Davie commissioner Dan Barrett of Oak Valley is also mentioned as an attractive candidate.

Potential candidates from other counties in the district — Davidson, Iredell and parts of Rowan and Guilford may also have designs on the seat.

This could be a donnybrook — a furious sprint to a June 7 primary. Top vote getter in the melee gets the nomination. There will be no run-off.

It took a few years, but I long ago become a fan of U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of the 5th District which had included Davie. Even her old opponents in the rough-and-tumble race in 2004 now acknowledge the voters got it right when they chose her from among a pack of candidates in that bitter and expensive race.

Nobody works harder. Where three or more voters are gathered in the 5th congressional district, Virginia Foxx is likely to show up if invited.

Agree with her political philosophy or not, Rep. Foxx offers excellent constituent service and is in close touch with her district. She knows us. And she’s a veteran’s strongest advocate. She has made sure old soldiers got the war medals they earned and sat with their widows as they recounted their experiences from World War II.

The redesigned 12th District would do well to get its own version of Virginia Foxx.

She has been effective on the floor of Congress as well. She gets things done. Clemmons financial advisor Paul Johnson discovered that. He spotted a flaw in the federal law for IRA accounts and alerted Mrs. Foxx. It took five years of persistence, but President Obama signed the change into law last year. Other congressmen wouldn’t have bothered.

With the stroke of a pen by the N.C. General Assembly last week, Foxx’s district was reconfigured. Next year she will no longer represent Davie, Iredell or Rowan counties. She will represent all of Forsyth, and other Northwest counties have been thrown into her district.

The change is the result of political fights over the legislature’s every-10-years redistricting process.

A court order stayed the election process for Congress until the districts were remapped.

Rep. Foxx took the change in stride.

“The North Carolina General Assembly is in a difficult position working to develop the best solution possible to a very complex issue in a short period of time. I love the people of the 5th District and it is an honor to represent them, regardless of which counties fall within the district boundaries,” she said in a statement.

All the districts were reshaped. Davie will be smack in the middle of the 13th district with Iredell, Davidson, northern Rowan and western Guilford counties. Oddly, the 13th district congressman is George Holding of Raleigh. He doesn’t live in his reshaped district. Residency isn’t required. News reports in Raleigh last week suggested Holding might switch to run in the 2nd district.

Because of the late changes, party primaries for Congress have now been delayed until June 7. The filing period will be March 16-25.

Both Brock and Myers now represent large portions of the district and are very familiar names to voters. Barrett still has the contacts and respect from his earlier run for governor.

The prospects of a congressman hailing from Davie County have never been brighter.

— Dwight Sparks