Following news that Ted Budd was holding a fundraiser with “a woman integral in scheming with former President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election results,” the News & Observer editorial board is out with a brutal new piece calling Budd’s choice “deeply troubling” and urging voters to pay attention as he “court[s] elections in private for political gain.”

News & Observer: Ted Budd’s troubling embrace of a Trump co-conspirator

• If a person can be judged by the company they keep, then a politician can likewise be judged by the support they choose to accept. So it’s particularly concerning to see someone who tried to overturn a legitimate presidential election fundraising for a man who wants to be North Carolina’s next senator.
• But rather than disavow the support of someone so deeply ensnared in Trump’s lies and potentially criminal activity, Budd’s campaign is embracing this fundraiser as an opportunity.
• Budd is still courting election deniers in private for political gain. Much like Budd’s affection for Trump, his open embrace of someone who concocts lies and dangerous plots is deeply troubling.
• The choice to overlook threats to our democracy is a threat in and of itself, and it extends far beyond North Carolina.
• Budd is just one of many Republicans who are treating criminal attempts to overturn the election — as well as an attempted coup — as something far less dire than it actually was.
• What Trump did, what Mitchell supported and what happened on Jan. 6 should never be normalized.
• The past two years have shown that faithfulness to Trump and faithfulness to our country are often mutually exclusive. Voters should think carefully about which one Budd is more likely to choose.

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