This evening in Southern Pines, Congressman Ted Budd is “thrilled” to host a fundraiser with Cleta Mitchell, “a woman integral in scheming with former President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election results.” It’s no surprise that someone who called insurrectionists “just patriots standing up” feels “great” about the event and would “embrace” campaigning with a peddler of election fraud.

The News & Observer Editorial Board called his decision “troubling” and urged voters to remember that, despite his best effort to “strategically avoid talk” of the insurrection, he is “still courting election deniers in private.”

This is yet another example of how far out of the mainstream Ted Budd is for North Carolina. 

• News & Observer: Ted Budd’s troubling embrace of a Trump co-conspirator — ”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.”
• Charlotte Observer: Trump adviser who tried to overturn election hosts NC fundraiser for US Senate candidate — ”A woman integral in scheming with former President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election results is now hosting a fundraiser for a U.S. Senate candidate in North Carolina. Trump adviser Cleta Mitchell, a resident of Pinehurst who has been repeatedly mentioned throughout Jan. 6, 2021, news coverage and committee hearings in Congress, is hosting a fundraiser on Aug. 15 for Rep. Ted Budd. Budd is running to replace retiring Sen. Richard Burr. ‘We’re great with it,’ said Jonathan Felts, senior adviser to Budd.”

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