“Budd says little about what he will do, except fight—for what, exactly, is unclear.”

A brutal profile from The Assembly describes Budd’s uninspired and lackluster campaign that is forcing Republican leaders to “worry” Budd can’t win. One former Republican official went as far as saying he’s “blown it,” calling his campaign “terrible” and without a “vision.” Trailing Budd along a day of campaigning and stump speeches that “lack specifics” and “say little about what he will do,” the profile characterizes Budd as “stiff and plastic – pull the string and the talking point comes out.” 

Following the New York Times reporting that Budd is disingenuously trying to “downplay” the Trump endorsement and proving that he is willing to say anything to get elected, Republican operatives and consultants now question to The Assembly if Budd has what it takes to build a statewide coalition to win in a purple state like North Carolina: “There needs to be something more than that, and he seems to be relying on general trends helping Republicans.” 

After spending his time in Congress developing a record “in line with that of the most conservative branch of the party,” North Carolina voters may have a hard time believing he’s anything other than “the Trump guy.” 

The Assembly: Paper Elephant

• Yet it’s been hard to suss out who exactly Ted Budd is beyond his relationship to the former president. He does little media, he didn’t participate in primary debates last spring, and his limited number of campaign events this summer have been in deeply red territory. 
• A June Civitas poll put Budd ahead of Beasley by 5 points. By August, the same pollster had them tied at 42.3 percent. Another, from Blueprint Polling, put Beasley ahead by 4. FiveThirtyEight now has them running neck-and-neck.
• The polling is making some Republican leaders, who agreed to speak about internal party politics on condition of anonymity, worry Budd’s losing a fight that was his to win.
• “I think Budd is running a terrible campaign,” one former official from the state Republican Party said. “He has not put forth a vision of what he’d do for the state. If I were the Democrats, this race is where I’d put a lot of money, because Budd has blown it.”
• Budd arrived in Washington at the same time as Trump, and fell in lockstep with his agenda. Budd’s voting record is staunchly conservative, with a 98 percent lifetime score from the Heritage Foundation. He is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, whose members—considered the most conservative of the party and its most ardent defenders of Trump—include Reps. Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert. 
• Budd supports a total ban on abortion, even in the case of rape or incest, or to save the mother’s life. His voting record is in line with that of the most conservative branch of the party: against bills that would provide statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages and a protection to the right to contraception; the Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarked funds for deficit reduction; and a recent manufacturing bill. 
• Budd launches into his stump speech, which starts with inflation and a story about a receptionist who can’t afford gas and is afraid she won’t be able to retire. He talks about border security and rising crime stats. 
• The speech is folksy but lacks specifics, blaming the country’s current problems on President Biden’s policies—which Budd assures the crowd Beasley will rubber-stamp if she wins. Budd says little about what he will do, except fight—for what, exactly, is unclear.
• While Budd has Trump’s backing, he lacks the former president’s charisma. Budd comes across as stiff and plastic—pull the string and a talking point comes out. But it goes over well in a room full of true believers. 
• The former president’s influence, said conservative political analyst Kokai, “is certainly not the same selling point as it is in the primary. [Budd] can’t just say ‘I’m the Trump guy, vote for me.’ There needs to be something more than that, and he seems to be relying on general trends helping Republicans.” 
• It means Budd has to go beyond his base. 
• “It’s impossible to win statewide North Carolina without building that coalition with the unaffiliated female voter. And it’s a real problem right now for all Republicans,” said a GOP political operative.

###