Late to the party, but..
1. NC is not deemed competitive at all.
~ Competitive on this site means the MoCs talk... 1 nomination and to only 1 SA.
~~ In VA, Senators average 750+ applicants. The MoCs talk...aka spread the wealth.
~~ DS got all 3 MoCs nominations. Burr had 400 applicants. He also gave candidates multiple noms...1 kid got USNA and USMMA.
Not trying to be rude, just saying yes, your Congressional district may have 50 for the slate of 10, but when you look at the Senatorial level, that is not competitive in the terms we use here.
~ JMPO, but if I was to say which district I would see 7th district as competitive because you have a lot of military bases and the outskirts of Raleigh. Raleigh has excellent schools. Military bases typically equally more military brats. That area would include Fayetteville, and Wilmington, plus some outlying Seymour Johnson AFB kids.
2. The MoC gets the choice to use principal, ranked or unranked for the slate submission. They can change their decision not only every year, but also with every SA.
~ IE: Last year no principals for any nominee. This year a principal to USMA, ranked to USAFA and unranked to USNA.
~~ Burr to my knowledge has never given a principal. His committee interviews early Jan. Typically they interview only the top 20, thus it becomes a yours to lose at the interview.
If someone in my district gets a principal nomination from Senate and I was second for the house of representatives would they try to give me a pricipal nomination
Short answer is NO. See point #2. The Sen. used principal, but that does not mean that your Congressional submitted a ranked slate. They could have submitted unranked, in essence letting the SA decide using the WCS and you might not be second according to the WCS.
~ Key: read the congrats letter. It typically will state how they submit. Principal, principal/alternate, principal/ranked, principal/unranked, ranked only and finally unranked. Anything with the word rank means this is my choice, but I won't force your hand, unlike the word principal.
Each MOC charging is tied to how they submit their slate to the SA.
3.
Could a MOC or senator nominate to multiple service academies with only 1 or 2 spots open?
Yes.
I see your moniker is Texas, and if you are a TX nominee candidate and not a NC candidate, the chances for you would be less than NC.
~TX is considered competitive. The MoCs do talk to spread the wealth. Getting 1 nom. in total is considered great. I would not expect a nom to multiple SAs . NC depending on the applicant pool, I have seen multiple noms.
~~ IE candidate Smith has an LOA to USNA and USMA. It is a no harm/no foul to place them on their slate. The candidate only needs a nom., but that does not mean the SA will charge them from an appointment aspect. They could place that candidate on both slates, and give principals to someone else.
Traditionally, that means on their slate they can state to their constituents that at least 2 were appointed prior to hitting the national pool, but only 1 was charged (principal) to the MoC. There are some MoC slates that could have 8,9, or even 10 get an appointment, but only 1 will be placed against the MoC for their 5 at any time.
Nominating and charging are 2 different things.