As election season looms, one of the state’s most contentious races is playing out just south of NC State’s Centennial Campus. North Carolina’s newly drawn 13th Congressional District could have dramatic implications on the balance of power in Congress come next year and is headlined by the involvement of former NC State football player Bo Hines. While Hines’ single season at the University in 2014 exemplified his considerable capacities as wide receiver, his campaign for Congress has shown that these skills did not translate to politics.  

Hines, a 27-year-old Yale graduate, emerged onto the political scene this election cycle with the support of former President Donald Trump. His relationship with Trump serves as the basis of his campaign, being one of many “America First” candidates running for Congress this November.  

While Trump’s endorsement was crucial to Hines’ success in the primary election, the former president’s support comes affixed with a stringent allegiance to his positions and policies. Political arrangements of this nature make it difficult to deduce where Hines’ ideas begin and his patron’s end, or if the former holds any sort of convictions at all. Among these stances is the dispute over the results of the 2020 election, in which Hines endorses the false narrative that the election was stolen.  

While bending the knee for the perceived power holder in his party, Hines has also shifted his ideas on other political hot topics. Following a developing trend among Republican candidates, Hines has changed his tone on abortion throughout the campaign. Initially supporting a total ban, Hines has since scrubbed his campaign page of the topic and been non-committal on supporting national legislation. In changing course toward a more politically convenient position, Hines further muddles what his beliefs truly are.  

Beyond his predicament on what sect of voters he should pander to, Hines’ campaign is littered with other political red flags. The campaign has drawn the most public criticism for the candidate’s “district shopping.” Before running south of Raleigh, Hines initially campaigned in the 5th and 6th Districts, switching to the 13th only a month before the primary was held. As maps changed with redistricting and political real estate presented itself in different parts of the state, Hines adjusted accordingly. 

While “district shopping” has become commonplace in American politics, it’s important to note that its validity in our system is incompatible and detrimental to the values of representative democracy. Hines has no genuine association with North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District; it’s difficult to imagine how he could effectively embody the will of a people he tactically sought out for the pursuit of power.

This criticism also extends to Hines’ opponent Wiley Nickel, who lives in the Raleigh area but resides outside the boundary of the 13th District. Hines residential maneuverings have even drawn condemnation from his own party in the region, who called for homegrown candidates better suited to represent the area. 

In an effort to relate to the district, whose economy mainly consists of agriculture and manufacturing, Hines released an ad touting his own experiences on farmland and how they relate to his “North Carolina values.” While it makes for an endearing photo op, the fact that the farm shown is actually in Indiana does not support his bid for authenticity. Moreover, financial disclosures show most of his campaign has been funded by his trust fund. It is difficult to make the case that an Ivy League trust fund kid compliments the interests of rural North Carolina farmers.  

Hines is a carbon-copy candidate; his campaign is right out of a MAGA textbook and fails to offer North Carolina’s 13th district anything unique or inspiring. In being a mouthpiece for the former President and being dictated by whichever way the winds of conservative politics blow, Hines compromises originality for electability.

Hines seemingly only intends to play the role of a congressman and not actually legislate in the interest of the people he seeks to represent. This November, members of the Pack south of campus should rebuke Bo Hines and tell the Republican Party authenticity trumps political power games.