McCrory Targets Budd as ‘Washington Insider’ After Trump Endorses

RALEIGH – President Donald Trump made some waves in North Carolina at the NCGOP convention over the weekend, giving one of his first big speeches in months and annoucing his endorsement of Congressman Ted Budd for the 2022 U.S. Senate race

That news spurred the 2022 Senate campaign of former Governor Pat McCrory to go into attack mode against Budd, casting him as a Washington insider that opposed the Trump agenda while in congress.

I’m disappointed that President Trump has endorsed a Washington insider who has done more to oppose the Trump agenda than anyone in this race. We will win this race – the primary and the general.

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) June 6, 2021

Ted Budd opposed President Trump’s plan to secure the border, to support our farmers, to repeal Obamacare, and he even voted against President Trump’s COVID vaccines.

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) June 6, 2021

Now, he’ll do even more to defeat President Trump’s agenda if he’s the Republican nominee by giving our seat in the US Senate to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. Ted Budd’s bought-and-paid-for Washington insider voting record is not electable in North Carolina.

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) June 6, 2021

If supporters of President Trump want his agenda to be supported in the US Senate, they should not vote for Ted Budd, who has opposed him at every turn – and who would lose to the far-left next November.

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) June 6, 2021

The audience reaction was telling: the President got bad advice in picking a Washington D.C. insider. North Carolina voters will pick the best person to represent them – and I’m looking forward to them supporting us in the Primary and the General.

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) June 6, 2021

McCrory has been leading in early polls among voters, having the widest name ID among the three primary contenders (McCrory, Budd, and former congressman Mark Walker).

The Trump endorsement of Budd, however, will certainly introduce new energy into the race. Notwithstanding McCrory’s criticisms, Budd has been a relatively solid and conservative representative for North Carolina’s 13th District. A gun store owner, Budd has been strong on Second Amendment issues and generally moves with the MAGA camp on important issues.

While McCrory enjoys the benefit of high name ID owing to his term as and campaigns for governor, the familiarity also comes with a downside. Name ID doesn’t always mean a positive association, as some primary voters may have a negative view of the former governor. Those factions will certainly be animated by Trump’s endorsement of Ted Budd, and what previously felt like a large lead for McCrory may now become a real contest.