Freshman Focus: Republican Brad Knott, ex-prosecutor who flipped House seat in North Carolina, talks game plan

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Republican Brad Knott, ex-prosecutor who flipped NC House seat, explains why he ran for Congress

Fox News Digital spoke to Rep.-elect Brad Knott, R-N.C., about why he quit his longtime job as a federal prosecutor to run for Congress and what his priorities will be in office.

Republican Brad Knott, who flipped North Carolina’s 13th District red in November, explained to Fox News Digital why he resigned as a federal prosecutor to run for Congress – and what his priorities will be once he’s sworn into the House next month. 

A lifelong North Carolinian and former longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney, Knott said that he considered it a "high honor" to spend most of his career working alongside law enforcement, including through organized crime investigations spanning across the country. It was the effects of President Biden and Vice President Harris taking office on local law enforcement in particular that drove Knott to run for Congress. 

Observing the impact of the border crisis on communities, Knott said that he couldn't sit by and watch the sheer "availability of drugs, the presence of violence, the inability to combat it effectively because of just the deluge of people and contraband and criminality that was coming across the border and really the refusal of Washington to do what it could do."

"I had a very, very extensive career in law enforcement, saw a lot in that role and was very much troubled by what I saw on a policy level once Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took the reins in January of 2021," Knott said. "And the deliberate policies and the actions that they took upon taking the oath had a trickle-down effect that was just undeniable. And it was undeniably harmful not only for us as prosecutors, but federal law enforcement, local law enforcement, and then obviously the communities that we are all tasked to protect." 

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Rep.-elect Brad Knott, R-NC, after joining other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on Nov. 15, 2024.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Noting executive policies alone, Knott said "there was an absolute refusal to tackle this problem," which he found "baffling" given the numbers of drug overdoses, attrition rates of law enforcement agencies and crime. 

"There was just not an appetite at all to tackle this issue. And after a number of years of that, I ultimately followed my heart. We had prayed about this and given the unique posture I had before I decided to run," Knott said. "Seeing crimes all over the country and the effects of it, I thought that it'd be worth trying to run for office in an effort ultimately to fix those issues that I had a firsthand account of seeing and seeing how to combat it effectively." 

Knott’s endorsement by President-elect Trump in April resulted in his overwhelming May run-off primary win, staving off the prior GOP front-runner Kelly Daughtry. He went on to defeat Democrat Frank Pierce on Election Day last month, winning the redrawn district now covering all or parts of the eight counties in or near the state capital of Raleigh. 

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The highlight of campaigning for office, Knott said, was door knocking and hosting town halls for the opportunities to speak and interact with voters firsthand. 

"It's essential to do that because it gives you a window, a front row seat and to what people are actually focused on," Knott said. "It cuts through the noise. It cuts through the media. And in my old job, it's like getting to talk to the jury. It just goes right to the relevant party." 

Through those conversations, Knott said the people of the 13th district expressed "a fairly consistent basket of issues" involving the border crisis' strain of resources on local police and first responders, and in schools and hospitals. 

"But beyond that, there was an overwhelming sense that the country was just headed in the wrong direction," Knott told Fox News Digital. "And from a priority standpoint, I think many people realize that the last administration, the current administration, but soon to be the last administration, were prioritizing things that most Americans just did not agree with. There's real suffering in the United States right now, and there's a very real misconception that the economy is doing well, that the economy is robust. It is not robust. And most people in the 13th District had a real understanding of just how limited the economy is." 

Knott stressed that the United States is $36 trillion in debt – and regardless of their background, he said voters overwhelmingly felt their taxpayer dollars were funneled to illegal immigrants and conflicts abroad, rather than Americans at home. 

"Most people are struggling and struggling mightily. And whether it's sending tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars abroad, tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars to illegal immigrants, the promulgation of thousands of regulations that strangle small businesses, essentially enabling only the connected and the big businesses to thrive," Knott said. "And again, the overall sentiment was the country is just headed in the wrong direction. And the path we're on, it needs to change. And so getting out into the community, our belief about getting into the race was certainly affirmed that the people, regardless of race, regardless of class, regardless of of politics, really, they wanted they wanted meaningful changes to obvious problems." 

"We are $36 trillion in debt. What have you received for all of that spending?" Knott asked, stating that "we are going to have to pay that back for no services rendered."

As for the border crisis, Knott condemned how the U.S. government "literally borrowed money from other countries, from the taxpayers, their future earnings to subsidize the illegal immigration invasion," as "we were spending tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars a year over the last couple of years paying for illegal immigrants to be here, to be educated here, to eat here, to sleep here. And incentivizing more of it." 

"That's just one example of the gross incompetence, but the unbelievable power of Washington," Knott said.

UKRAINE AID 

The Biden administration is rushing to dispense billions more in U.S. aid to Ukraine before Trump takes office. Additional assistance amid what is nearly a three-year-long conflict will be deliberated by the new Congress, controlled by the GOP in both chambers, as Trump is expected to pressure Ukraine and Russia to come to a cease-fire agreement. 

Trump with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.  (SARAH MEYSSONNIER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Knott decried how those in the political class and media simplify the Ukraine debate, arguing that objectives can be "more complicated than just one line." Yet, he says, his focus remains on the American people. 

"Obviously, I think what Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine is, it's horrible. It should not be happening. I believe that Ukraine is certainly entitled to its border, to its sovereignty," Knott said. "And as I agree with President Trump, it needs to stop before tens of thousands of more people are killed. And, at the same time, recklessly dispensing of American dollars to a foreign country with what seems to be very little oversight when we have tremendous problems at home to deal with, that's a very legitimate concern. And there comes a point where we have to question whether or not our involvement is worth it to the American people." 

"And we have suffering at home to the degree that we are currently seeing. I prefer to send those dollars and to keep those dollars here. And flatly speaking, we have a $36 trillion debt," Knott added. "And the idea that the United States can just dump tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars into what seem to be very righteous endeavors around the world, we simply can't do that with no end in sight. And so my main focus is guarding the dollar, guarding the hard earnings of Americans, and really focusing as a government on the American citizenry that seems to be so downtrodden and taken advantage of and rebuilding that first." 

Knott said that Trump has "made it very clear to the Republican Congress that he expects us to deliver solutions, and he also expects us to work with the other side," recognizing the GOP holds control by just a slim margin in the House. 

"I mean, the open border, overregulation, overtaxation, overspending, inflation, the debt, these are not Republican problems to tackle. These are American problems that we must all tackle," Knott said. "And if we don't fix these things quickly, whether it is, you know, tens of millions of people coming across our border and requiring an increased percentage of support from the American taxpayers, whether it's the $36 trillion debt, these issues will ultimately gravely weaken the country. And so without saying my expectations, my hope is that the 119th Congress will find a way to meaningfully address these very serious problems, not for Republican benefit, but for the country's benefit." 

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NORTH CAROLINA'S 13TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Knott will replace Democrat Rep. Wiley Nickel, who did not seek re-election after citing the congressional remapping by Republican state legislators that reconfigured the district to strongly lean red. Nickel, who has signaled interest in running for Senate in 2026, will serve just one term in the House after flipping the seat blue by a razor-thin margin in 2022. Republican Ted Budd, another Trump-backed candidate, represented the district for three terms and that year successfully ran for the U.S. Senate.

Across his district's "robust and diverse" set of industries, ranging from agriculture, heavy equipment and infrastructure projects, Knott said he observed a "common thread" of business owners expressing frustration with D.C. bureaucracy. 

From a conversation with a large scale sweet potato farmer in the district, as North Carolina is one of the largest producers of the crop in the country, Knott said he was told, "I can deal with the weather, I can deal with storms, I can deal with droughts, but I cannot deal with the regulations that are coming out of Washington, D.C." And the incoming congressman heard a similar story from infrastructure companies, which he says relayed how "the cost of regulatory overreach is becoming so great that they're having to just reallocate resources from building bridges to hiring basically paperwork pushers to deal with the regulations and the bureaucracy maze that is levied upon them." 

"In terms of taking that power back, Washington has no business in telling our farmers how to farm, our builders how to build, our teachers how to teach," Knott said. "Kind of reestablishing the priorities in Washington and cutting the reach, sort of removing the tentacles as it is, I think will enable a much greater degree of flourishing for big businesses, small businesses, and really everyone in the 13th District." 

Trump’s TRUTH Social post endorsing Knott called him a "Strong Patriot" who would support law enforcement and the military, secure the border and protect the Second Amendment. As for Daughtry, the daughter of a former longtime Republican legislative leader, Trump described her as a "RINO" – Republican in Name Only – "who has given money to Far Left Democrats, pledged to vote for Obama, and is no friend to MAGA." 

"President Trump was undeniably effective as he weathered perhaps more resistance that was thrown at him than any candidate, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe the history of the country," Knott said. "And all of that resistance was designed and promulgated from Washington, D.C. And it's a very interesting metaphor that Washington, D.C. was fighting so hard against President Trump, both in his first term as president and when he was running again in the last couple of years. And my entire hope as a soon-to-be congressman is to equal out the balance of power again, to really leverage whatever ability we have as the 119th Congress, to dispense resources and power back to the people of this great country." 

Trump's nominee to be FBI Director Kash Patel arrives at Sen. Joni Ernst's, R-IA, office for a meeting in the Russell Senate Office Building on Dec. 9, 2024.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

TRUMP'S FBI AND DOJ PICKS

Trump is expected to bring a major shake-up to federal law enforcement, and while Knott said he does not know Trump's pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, or Attorney General pick Pam Bondi personally, he appreciates how Patel has supported "this decentralizing thrust of putting officers back into communities for safer collaboration, more in-depth collaboration with local law enforcement, and hopefully communities will be made safer." 

"There does need to be a rigorous review of how the FBI is being managed and how it's being used and what percentage of the tax dollars that we allocate for the FBI are being used for Washington, D.C., bureaucracy versus putting police on the streets to make American communities safer," Knott said, adding that he's confident Patel and Bondi will face "rigorous review," will stand for questioning in the Senate and "then the right decision will hopefully be made following that review." 

Recognizing that most first-term members do not get their first committee assignment picks, Knott said his background would make him a good candidate for the Judiciary. 

"That's one of my passions, is to retool the criminal code in such a way that when President Trump leaves office, law enforcement still has the tools to protect the American people rather than relying solely on executive policy and executive power which can be undone with the stroke of a pen like we saw with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris," he said. "I think we need to rebuild the criminal code in some respects to be a more durable solution for the American people." 

TRANSGENDER BATHROOM CONTROVERSY 

The incoming House class already has seen controversy with the election of transgender Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del. In response, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., pushed for a resolution banning members and House staffers from using "single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex." Mace, a rape survivor, said she’s received death threats for publicly calling to preserve private spaces for women and girls, and she said she was "physically accosted" on the Capitol grounds on Tuesday. 

Knott, who was on the Hill for orientation while the controversy unfolded, praised the response of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who enacted a policy preserving single-sex facilities on Capitol grounds. While Johnson said everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, the speaker stressed, "A man cannot become a woman." 

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"It was one of the unfortunate instances of our orientation insofar as we talked about very serious issues that affect all Americans, not just a very small percentage of society. And I think the speaker hit the nail on the head," Knott said. "He said all people are worthy of respect and dignity and being treated with respect and dignity and kindness. But that does not mean that anybody who claims to be a woman should be able to go into a bathroom where women are, where little girls are." 

"As the father of two little girls, I stand behind the speaker's sentiment that men should stay in men's locker rooms, women should be and women's locker rooms. And you're born a man. You're born a woman. And we should adhere to that," Knott added. "It's not uniform across the board. There are some people who would abuse that liberty to satisfy their own perversions. And of course, there are some who would not. And the speaker's policy, I think, is the one that's most respectful, it’s most clear, and it's the easiest for us to follow."