Alexis Stadler: “Michael Whatley knowingly and repeatedly gave a platform to a convicted child sex offender. These girls were children.”
New reporting from Cardinal & Pine is highlighting how a mom from Union County drove three hours to condemn Michael Whatley at the Wake County GOP Convention he was attending for knowingly elevating convicted child sex predator Harvey West.
Cardinal & Pine: [Alexis Stadler:] “ I’m here as a parent and a voter in North Carolina to say, ‘no more.’ This cannot be allowed to continue. Michael Whatley and every single member of the Republican Party who has cozied up to this child predator must be held accountable at the ballot box in November.”
Cardinal & Pine: “West’s ascension in the state Republican Party came after prison, and he has said he was always open about his past… As he helped bring in money for the party, Whatley and other Republican leaders wanted him around.”
Just last week, Harvey West confirmed that Michael Whatley knew West was a convicted child predator and still appointed him twice to NCGOP leadership.
Cardinal & Pine: Michael Whatley faces scrutiny over close ties to known sex-offender
Michael McElroy | March 30, 2026
- Michael Whatley, the NC Republican US Senate candidate, is facing renewed criticism over his relationship with Harvey West Jr., a GOP official who served six years in prison after being accused of raping three minors in 1999.
- “Michael Whatley knowingly and repeatedly gave a platform to a convicted child sex offender,” Stadler told the small gathering. “These girls were children.”
- “One of the survivors of Mr. West’s assault was 16 at the time of assault, only a couple months younger than I was when I was sexually assaulted multiple times by someone I trusted,“ she said. “ That assault shaped me into the woman I am today, and still affects multiple areas of my life.”
- “ I’m here as a parent and a voter in North Carolina to say, ‘no more.’ This cannot be allowed to continue. Michael Whatley and every single member of the Republican Party who has cozied up to this child predator must be held accountable at the ballot box in November.”
- But their relationship is years old, not breaking news. The renewed allegations, however, highlight the bigger reality that Stadler drove three hours to convey: Politically connected perpetrators often get to move on after they serve their time, but sexual assault survivors aren’t so lucky.
- Despite West’s record, Whatley supported West’s rise to several leadership roles in North Carolina Republican politics, including as the head of the effort to oust Democrat Don Davis from Congress. And his past didn’t prevent West from hosting a popular annual fundraising picnic at his home for North Carolina’s judicial candidates, including NC Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby, Judge Jefferson Griffin, and NC Rep. Sarah Stevens, a legislator who is running for the NC Supreme Court in 2026.
- West’s ascension in the state Republican Party came after prison, and he has said he was always open about his past.
- As he helped bring in money for the party, Whatley and other Republican leaders wanted him around.
- Messages sent by Cardinal & Pine on Thursday to Whatley’s spokesperson were not returned.
- Whatley and other party leaders dismissed concerns about West over the years, the Asheville Watchdog recently reported, arguing that the crimes were a long time ago.
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