In recent reporting from WRAL, convicted child sex offender Harvey West said that DC insider Michael Whatley not only appointed him twice to NCGOP leadership positions, but that Whatley elevated him because he saw his “intentions” and heart.”

West served six years in prison for indecent liberties involving three girls, as young as age 14.

WRAL: “‘I’ve never hidden the fact that I have a past,’ West said…

“As time went on and I worked and I showed my worth — and I was able to be successful and bring that district together and organize a newer structure — evidently, he saw my worth and saw my intentions and saw my heart.”

For the last 20 days, Whatley has repeatedly refused to answer reporter questions about knowingly appointing a child predator to NCGOP leadership.

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WRAL: Fact-check: Did Whatley appoint a sex offender to party roles while GOP chair?

Paul Specht | March 27, 2026

• U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley faces questions about whether he elevated a convicted sex offender to positions within the North Carolina Republican Party during his tenure as party chairman.
• Just days after Whatley won the GOP nomination, an Asheville, North Carolina-based media outlet reported that Whatley appointed a convicted sex offender to state party leadership positions. Whatley was the state party chairman from June 2019 to March 2024 before becoming chairman of the Republican National Convention. 

• Whatley’s campaign declined PolitiFact’s requests for comment. 

• “I’ve never hidden the fact that I have a past,” West said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I was elected (by) people being upfront and honest and saying, ‘Hey, this happened. I did six years in prison.’”

• West added: “When I first became the district chair, Whatley was not supportive of that. He didn’t want me there. But, as time went on and I worked and I showed my worth — and I was able to be successful and bring that district together and organize a newer structure — evidently, he saw my worth and saw my intentions and saw my heart. So, he utilized my skills and talents where they best fit. You don’t have to like a person to see their worth and their value, as long as they get the job done.”

• Asked how West knew Whatley didn’t like him, West said: “I’m not going to air our dirty laundry.” West said that he had supported one of Whatley’s opponents in the race for party chairman that year.

• West told PolitiFact that he has been appointed to the party’s Plan of Organization Committee at least 10 times dating back to 2011.

• Some years, such as 2018 and 2019, West said his district committee appointed him to the role. Other years, West said, the state party’s chairman appointed him. West said that was the case from 2013 to 2017 — when Robin Hayes, Claude Pope and Hassan Harnett served as chairmen. It was also the case in 2021 and 2024 — when Whatley appointed West to the Plan of Organization Committee, West said. 

• When PolitiFact asked the state GOP and Whatley’s campaign about West’s comments, the campaign didn’t provide a comment. Mercer, the state GOP spokesman, meanwhile, didn’t dispute West’s account. 

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