Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I am a native of North Carolina and was raised in Burke County as the oldest of four children. In 1987, I graduated from Freedom High School and received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

I graduated from West Point in 1991 with a B.S. in National Security/Public Affairs.  I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army and served for six years as a Field Artillery officer, and as an assistant professor of military science at the college level.  In 1997, I left active duty and returned to North Carolina to attend law school at UNC Chapel Hill where I graduated with honors in 2000.  I returned to Morganton to practice law in our family firm, where I have practiced since August 2000.  As a small town attorney, I have represented many clients in various legal matters.  I have argued cases at every level of the North Carolina court system, from the county court house to the NC Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in Raleigh.  And in 2007, I was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

While I practice law during the week, as the grandson of a tobacco farmer, I have farming in my blood, and my family spends many of our weekends and spare time on our farm riding horses, repairing fences, cutting firewood, and growing a garden.    

In 1993, I married a Burke County native, Lydia Furr, at the West Point Cadet Chapel, and we have been blessed with three wonderful daughters.  Our family is very active in our local church and AWANA program, and I am a committed to pro-life issues.

In the coming months I look forward to meeting you as I travel throughout our district.  God bless you and your family, and may God continue to bless America. 

Like many of you, over the past year I have become increasingly concerned about the direction our politicians are leading our country and our state. They seem out of touch with the people and are constantly growing the size of government, adding new regulations, and raising our taxes.  If we are going to get our economy back on track, we must have more honesty and accountability in our state government, and we must elect leaders who know that you can’t spend your way out of debt, or tax our state out of a recession.       

I believe we have a moral duty to the next generation to leave them with a nation and a state that are in sound financial condition. But today our federal government is controlled by a party that believes deficits don't matter, and our state is run by career politicians who mismanage our resources and raise taxes year after year. This cycle of taxing and spending is not sustainable. We simply cannot continue sacrificing the future of our children by mortgaging tomorrow to pay for today.

As a small businessman and farm owner, I am accustomed to hard work, and I am committed to the ideals of self-discipline and integrity, which I was taught growing up, and while working to become an Eagle Scout.  During my West Point years, the principles of Duty, Honor, and Country were instilled in me, and they are still very much a part of who I am and what I believe.  

In 2010, "We The People" need to act now if we are going to make a difference. As we enter this election, I pledge to work hard to return North Carolina to the principles of limited government and unlimited opportunity.  Together we can bring conservative government back to North Carolina, and preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.