Today marks one year since insurrectionists, incited by former President Trump and other Republicans, attacked the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson released the following statement:

“One year ago today was a dark day for our country. As we reflect on the tragic loss and unprecedented assault that occurred that day, we are faced with the reality that election deniers and doubters continue to pose a grave threat to our democracy. From the state legislature to the field of GOP U.S. Senate candidates, North Carolina Republicans have continued to spew corrosive lies about the election when it benefits their own short-term political interests, and we must stop them.

“While Republicans continue to show their willingness to tear down our democracy, North Carolina Democrats stand ready to defend and strengthen it. In 2022, we will work to elect candidates that have the courage to call out the lies and extremism that breed political violence, prioritize the values that bind us as a nation, and never back down in the fight to protect the right to vote.”

A reminder of where North Carolina Republicans stand: 

GOP U.S. Senate Candidates

• Congressman Budd voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and has sided with Trump time and again when it comes to peddling election lies and questioning the legitimacy of our elections. In August, he even said of the Capitol insurrection: “It was nothing. It was just patriots standing up.” 
• McCrory has been tying himself in knots trying to keep up with his hard-right primary rivals, “struggling to position himself amid a debate contorted by Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.”
• Former Congressman Mark Walker formally backed a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and “declined to answer” the Charlotte Observer’s question about whether he would’ve voted to certify Joe Biden’s victory.

North Carolina Republican Congressional Delegation

• On January 6th, Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, Madison Cawthorn, Richard Hudson, David Rouser, Virginia Foxx and Greg Murphy all voted to object to the 2020 election results, subverting the will of the American people for their own political gain.
• Madison Cawthorn was among those speaking at a “Stop the Steal” rally in which he spouted conspiracy theories about the integrity of the election and emboldened the crowd to “fight” for their cause.
• Cawthorn previously called on constituents to “lightly threaten” Members of Congress at a Turning Points USA Conference in December: “Call your congressman and feel free, you can lightly threaten them and say, you know what, if you don’t start supporting election integrity, I’m coming after you, Madison Cawthorn is coming after you, everybody’s coming after you.”

State Legislature & State Party

• In February, the NC GOP censured Senator Burr for his vote to impeach former President Trump for inciting an insurrection.
• So far, 22 members of the Oath Keepers, a group whose membership includes Reps.  Kidwell and Clampitt, have been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Rep. Clampitt has said he stands by his Oath Keepers affiliation.
• Rep. Kidwell serves as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, which spread dangerous conspiracy theories of voter fraud in the 2020 election. 
• Hand-picked by North Carolina Republicans, new State Rep. Donnie Loftis attended the insurrection and was “close enough to the Capitol breach to get hit repeatedly with tear gas.”
• Legislative Republicans have failed to condemn these members’ dangerous rhetoric and action – likely because leaders like Tim Moore initially spread “the big lie” about the 2020 election.