Senate Hopefuls Budd, McCrory on Triad Today

Off-year elections are not usually ripe with drama, but 2022 is already proving the exception. For one thing, there is still the lingering specter of Donald Trump, and how he and his false claims of voter fraud may affect turnout. There’s Joe Biden’s sinking poll numbers and a razor-thin Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, which have Republicans salivating. And then there’s gerrymandering and the courts. Here in North Carolina, congressional candidates have tried to position themselves to run in districts that may or may not exist, and a primary that has been rescheduled more times than a pandemic football game. And that brings us to the race for United States Senate, and to the folks who want to replace Richard Burr, who is retiring to count his money.

Only a few weeks ago, there were six leading contenders for Burr’s seat. Among the Democratic candidates were state Senator Jeff Jackson, Erica Smith, and Judge Cheri Beasley, while former Governor Pat McCrory, congressman Ted Budd, and former congressman Mark Walker were vying for the Republican nomination. However, shortly after the GOP map was drawn, Smith and Walker dropped out of their respective Senate races and announced bids to run for Congress. Then Jackson folded his tent while Walker dipped one toe back into the Senate race until the final maps were ratified.

In an attempt to give voters an objective look at the remaining Senate field, I featured Judge Beasley on the December 25th/26th edition of Triad Today, and I interviewed Budd and McCrory for the following episode. Among the questions I put to Pat and Ted were: How is Trump’s endorsement going to affect the primary and general elections? What can you do as Senator to help stem the tide of gun violence in America? Which of your accomplishments are you most proud of? And, Who had the most impact on your decision to go into politics?

I also asked both men why they wanted to serve in Washington, a place where there was so much partisan bickering and vitriol.

Pat: The main reason I’m running for the Senate is because Washington is broken. Just look at when the federal and state government started paying people more not to work than to work. That’s when I said, “I’m running.” It reminded me of when I became Governor in 2013, and I had all these protesters because I had reduced unemployment compensation at a time when there were plenty of job openings. There were “help wanted” signs all over North Carolina, and no one was taking them. And a lot of employers told me the reason those folks aren’t taking the jobs is because they make more on unemployment than they do coming to work for us. I reduced unemployment compensation equal to what South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia were paying, and three months later, North Carolina had the largest drop in unemployment in the country.

Ted: I think about where I came from in Davie County, about 35 minutes west of here, and the people out there and all over the state, just want someone to stand up for them. They feel like Washington D.C. has largely forgotten them, and the Beltway has. And so they need people that they elect to remember them, remember who sent them there, and that they’re standing up for the forgotten men and women of America. I’ve never been one to stand on the sidelines. I’m not a complainer, I’m a doer. I threw my hat in the ring back in 2016 when there was a 17-way primary, and it worked out, and I’ve had the privilege of serving since then, and now I’m trying for the U.S. Senate.”