Gary Ceres
Gary Ceres (Republican Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District. Ceres lost in the special Republican primary on April 30, 2019.
Ceres completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2019
See also: North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District special election, 2019
General election
Special general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 3
Gregory Murphy defeated Allen Thomas, Greg Holt, and Tim Harris in the special general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 3 on September 10, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gregory Murphy (R) | 61.7 | 70,407 |
 | Allen Thomas (D) | 37.5 | 42,738 | |
 | Greg Holt (Constitution Party) | 0.4 | 507 | |
 | Tim Harris (L) | 0.3 | 394 | |
| Total votes: 114,046 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary runoff election
Special Republican primary runoff for U.S. House North Carolina District 3
Gregory Murphy defeated Joan Perry in the special Republican primary runoff for U.S. House North Carolina District 3 on July 9, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gregory Murphy | 59.7 | 21,481 |
 | Joan Perry | 40.3 | 14,530 | |
| Total votes: 36,011 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3
The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3 on April 30, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Allen Thomas | 50.0 | 12,933 |
 | Richard Bew | 25.2 | 6,532 | |
| Dana Outlaw | 12.6 | 3,268 | ||
 | Isaiah Johnson | 6.9 | 1,774 | |
 | Gregory Humphrey | 2.7 | 695 | |
 | Ernest Reeves | 2.6 | 683 | |
| Total votes: 25,885 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ollie Nelson (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3 on April 30, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gregory Murphy | 22.5 | 9,530 |
| ✔ | | Joan Perry | 15.4 | 6,536 |
 | Phillip Shepard | 12.1 | 5,101 | |
 | Michael Speciale | 9.5 | 4,022 | |
 | Phil Law | 8.7 | 3,690 | |
| Eric Rouse | 7.7 | 3,258 | ||
| Jeff Moore | 5.4 | 2,280 | ||
 | Francis De Luca | 3.9 | 1,670 | |
 | Celeste Cairns | 3.5 | 1,467 | |
| Chimer Davis Clark Jr. | 2.6 | 1,092 | ||
 | Michele Nix | 2.2 | 915 | |
| Graham Boyd | 2.1 | 897 | ||
 | Paul Beaumont | 1.9 | 805 | |
 | Mike Payment | 1.3 | 537 | |
 | Don Cox | 0.6 | 251 | |
 | Kevin Baiko | 0.4 | 171 | |
 | Gary Ceres | 0.3 | 108 | |
| Total votes: 42,330 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Sandy Smith (R)
Libertarian primary election
Special Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3
Tim Harris defeated Shannon Bray in the special Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 3 on April 30, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tim Harris | 56.0 | 75 |
 | Shannon Bray | 44.0 | 59 | |
| Total votes: 134 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Gary Ceres completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ceres' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Protecting the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point from closure, securing Right to Farm legislation for 3rd District farmers and passing the Birth Mother Adoption Tax Credit.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am passionate about working on the issues of import to Eastern Carolina's working class. This means focusing on issues such as farming, fisheries, military personnel and bases, veteran affairs, beach nourishment and improving our educational system. I also have a personal interest in cracking down on illegal immigration and in protecting unborn lives.
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?
My political leanings are very close to those of Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC).
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
My political philosophy is heavily influenced by John Locke's Second Treatise on Government.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
The ability to connect with the average working man and woman that he/she represents. The desire to serve and actually do something other than simply vote ... take action.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I am driven to action and to find solutions, not to rely on talking points. I will be a champion for Eastern North Carolina and not simply someone who is sent to Washington to just vote on bills.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
To listen to one's constituents, adhere to the Constitution and to be open in all public dealings.
What legacy would you like to leave?
The legacy I would like to most be known for would be that of a problem solver that proposed legislation and solutions. Someone outside the political class that championed the working class.
What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?
I vividly remember the day the Challenger disaster occurred. I was 7 years old at the time. Subsequently the speech delivered by Ronald Reagan was one of the most memorable of my life when he addressed the nation at the memorial to the Challenger victims.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I taught science camps to children where we would build model rockets, conduct science experiments, etc. I started assisting in these camps at age 13 and continued to teach them until I was 20 years old.
What is your favorite holiday? Why?
I love Christmas. Getting to celebrate the birth of Christ brings out the best in many people and it is a time of year to celebrate the salvation that comes from knowing Christ as well as to celebrate the joys of family life.
What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?
It is truly the people's House. House members are charged with representing not just national issues but with presenting the issues of import to their individual districts.
Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?
While it can be beneficial to have prior governmental experience, I believe strongly in the framers' intent of citizen-legislators.
What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?
Solving our crisis at the border and tackling our illegal immigration problem. We must secure our border, identify those here illegally and preserve our culture if we are to survive as a nation.
What are your thoughts on term limits?
I have proposed a Constitutional Amendment to limit House terms to 3 and Senate terms to 2.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Ceres’ campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Immigration I support building the border wall, reforming our visa system to track down and deport those that overstay visas, withholding funds from sanctuary cities and making English the official language of the United States. Regulations Regulations cost our economy more than $1.3 trillion a year. I pledge to be a hawk on identifying and seeking the repeal of outdated and onerous regulations. Regulations not only harm our hardworking small business owners but are responsible for greatly expanding the costs of goods and services that the working class consumes. Late Term Abortions The Democrats in Washington have devalued human life to new lows. While there can be disagreement with those that are pro-choice even as I am strongly pro-life there can be no tolerance for allowing late term abortions that are never medically necessary. Democrats have now gone beyond even supporting abortion to advocating infanticide. I will not just pay lip service to this issue but will seek a federal ban on late term abortions and make sure that any doctor that participates in the infanticide of a child born alive during an abortion is put in prison. |
” |
| —Gary Ceres’ campaign website (2019)[2] | ||
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gary Ceres for Congress, "Issues," accessed March 12, 2019
