SALISBURY POST: County party names Grant Campbell "Republican of the Year"

Last weekend, the Rowan County Republican Party held its annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner.

The lineup featured few surprising faces from the Republican side of the aisle, but party leadership reserved one big surprise for a local representative.

Rep. Dr. Grant Campbell (R-Kannapolis) of District 83, which comprises parts of Rowan and Cabarrus counties, was recognized as Rowan County’s Republican of the Year.

“They pulled it on me,” Campbell said this week in a phone call. “I should have caught on when the chairman (Grayson Haff) asked me halfway through the evening, you are not on call or anything?”

As a physician, Campbell is often on call or duty. Asked about the rest of his week, he mentioned a legislative meeting event with the Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce and a lecture for the Cabarrus Health Alliance on substance abuse and pregnancy but added on Sunday, “I’ll be delivering babies.”

While the first mention of his profession did not raise any flags, the second one offered a bit of humor for the first-time elected official.

“(The party chair) starts introducing the Republican of the Year,” Campbell said. “This year’s Republican started his career in medicine. I start looking around thinking who else started their career in medicine.”

A few of Haff’s following remarks ultimately gave it away.

“In thinking about a person for our Republican of the Year, I always look around to see who has exhibited leadership within our party and community,” Haff said. “This year’s recipient is someone who has dedicated his life and career to serving his community and country.”

According to the North Carolina Medical Society, Campbell graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also received his medical degree. He has been treating patients in the area for over 25 years.

While already in private practice, Campbell learned of the critical shortage of surgeons in the military and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve.

“After 9/11, he answered the call to serve our country as a military doctor, serving 3 tours abroad,” Haff said. “Following his retirement from military service and retiring with the rank of LTC, he continued serving our community by providing medical care through private practice.”

Campbell was deployed three times and served in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan receiving multiple decorations while serving in combat theaters. He finished his Army service in 2017 and was honorably discharged as a Lt. Colonel and returned to treating his local patients full time along with other roles in his community.

“He served as the vice chairman of the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges,” Haff said. “He also serves on the Board of Directors/Advisors of the UNC General Alumni Association, The Independence Fund, and the Interpreting Freedom Foundation.

“He’s been recognized as a top doctor by Charlotte Magazine and Business North Carolina for multiple years. He has received numerous awards, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation Pink Tie Guy award, the Meritorious Service Medal and 2 Army Commendation Medals for actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

In 2024, Campbell announced his intentions to run for the newly created District 83 which spans portions of Cabarrus and Rowan counties and whose representatives were Rep. Kristin Baker and Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, respectively.

He was elected in November of that year, so he is in the back half of his first term. Reflecting his first full year in office, Campbell remarked that he was proud of what he and the General Assembly had accomplished.

Questioned about his proudest achievement, Campbell said, “Getting the Veterans Education Promise Act that I filed across the finish line. It expands in-state tuition eligibility for soldiers, veterans and their spouses and also Purple Heart recipients even if they are not in-state residents.”

Campbell explained how another part of that bill permits servicemembers to defer their acceptance to a UNC System schools for longer than the previous one year.

“We expanded that to five years so they could fulfill their service without losing that spot,” Campbell said.

As a veteran himself, Campbell knows the challenges that servicemembers often face so he has made them a cornerstone of his platform. He pointed to work they have done to expand property tax relief for 100-percent disabled veterans.

“The long-term goal is to get a higher exemption and we are looking to get some relief for partially disabled veterans,” he said.

Campbell’s focus is not solely on veterans however as he has applied his knowledge of the medical field in aims of lowering prescription drug costs and reducing insurance entanglements for patients and their physicians.

Campbell said on Thursday that this is not actually his first elected office.

“I was the student body president in medical school,” he said with a laugh.

The experience has been eye-opening for him though and to a certain degree, has lessened previous cynicism towards elected office.

“There are good people up here in Raleigh,” he said. “One of the reasons I said no to running for office for over a decade is that I was cynical about politics. There are some here that fit that bill but there are a lot of people up here doing it for the right reasons and that is refreshing.”

He indicated that there have been adjustments like getting used to the slow pace of legislation.

“Sometimes, it moves slowly for a reason,” he said. “It is keeping bad legislation from being passed.”

Campbell has said he is proud of North Carolina and the things that make it unique but he’s not thrilled that N.C. remains the only state in the country that has not enacted a budget.

“I have been disappointed that we don’t have a budget,” Campbell said. We are being criticized for that and I think that is legitimate criticism. I think we have got to sit down and work out our differences. When we talk about the miniature and the inside of things, the people don’t care about that. They want results.”

Campbell added that he believes next Tuesday’s primaries could impact legislators’ willingness to find a budgetary solution.

“There have been folks that have not wanted to negotiate until their primaries are over,” Campbell said. “Hopefully, that will change. We will work out a budget or pass a series of mini budgets for essential funding.

“My strong preference would be that we sit down, do our job and get a budget passed.”

He lamented that it felt like some legislators were putting politics before policy.

“Your job is your job,” he said. “At least I believe that one of the things that got me elected is that I promise to focus on the responsibilities of the job and not the political short-term gains.”

On a personal note, Campbell is a proud father.

“Our youngest graduated college a semester early,” he said. “One of my goals as a parent is for my kids to get through college without debt. That was very important to me.”

Campbell attributes his children’s success to his wife.

“They got their intelligence and discipline from their mother,” he said. “I cannot take much credit for their success.”

Campbell also thanked party leaders for the recognition.

“I am very grateful,” he said. “I told the county party that it was very important for me in this process that I focus election success on doing your job and not attacking each other. I feel very supported by the county party and that their recognition was an affirmation that they agree that is important.”