Republican Candidate Turns in Disastrous Interview – Complete With Wildly Long Pause

State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, the Republican nominee for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, struggled to answer a series of questions during a recent interview, repeatedly pausing and admitting she was “not sure” where she stood on key issues.

Spectrum News’ Reuben Jones spoke with the candidate in September, with the network publishing the video on Thursday. Balkcom is running to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), who withdrew from his reelection bid in August after the House Ethics Committee recommended censuring him over what it described as “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staffers. Edwards, who denied wrongdoing, is serving out the remainder of his term. The House ultimately voted 413-2 to formally censure him.

Balkcom did not win a congressional primary; under state law, the 11th District Republican Party’s executive committee selected her to replace Edwards on the November ballot.

Jones asked the candidate about Edwards, wondering, “Do you think he should resign from his position, or are you comfortable with where things stand now?”

Hesitating a full 13 seconds before responding, Balkcom finally said, “I’m not sure. I’m not sure. I mean, he, he messed up. Uh, I think he needed to decide to resign. We’ve censured him, and, um, that’s kinda where I would leave it. I’m not sure.”

At another point, the Spectrum News reporter questioned, “What specifically would you like to see Congress do to bring down the prices?”

“I’m not sure yet,” the North Carolina state rep. admitted. “I have a couple ideas, but I’m not sure which one I would actually implement yet.”

Jones also referenced President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” noting that “there are analyses… that show that’s going to put a number of hospitals in jeopardy of having to close because of the changes and cuts to Medicaid,” and asking for Balkcom’s thoughts.

“I think he,” she started, before stopping herself. “I would have to understand it before I could actually make full comment on it, but I’d wanna see where that statistic is, and, I mean, I’ve seen the other side, so you can make the same argument on that as well, so I’d, I’d probably have to see more of that before I could actually, um, give you an answer on that.”

“Sure,” the journalist said. “One analysis I saw was it puts more than 400 hospitals at heightened risk of closures because of the law’s Medicaid cuts.”

Pausing again, Balkcom reiterated, “I would just have to— I’d want to dig in myself and see for myself before I answer that. I’m not, I’m not sure about that one.”

Watch the full interview above on YouTube.

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