North Carolina GOP Senate nominee Budd targets Democrat Beasley over crime, support for cashless bail

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Amid a full-court press by Republicans this fall targeting Democrats over crime, Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina is reiterating claims his rival for battleground North Carolina’s open GOP-held Senate seat is soft on the key issue.

And Budd, the conservative congressman who’s running to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, is taking aim at Democratic Senate nominee Cheri Beasley over the former North Carolina Supreme Court chief justice’s support for cashless bail for non-violent offenders.

“These polices are leading to repeat offenses, they’re leading to danger on our streets. The spike in crime,” Budd argued in an interview with Fox News Thursday ahead of a campaign event in Greensboro, North Carolina, with Donald Trump Jr., son of former President Trump.

“We need bad people off the streets. And, look, her polices have led to more dangerous streets, more crime, more fentanyl. Just in Iredell County, a couple of counties away, you saw one traffic stop had enough fentanyl to kill 250,000 people. We have to stop that, whether it’s at the border or here in North Carolina.”

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And in a line that he repeated to the crowd of supporters a few minutes later, Budd touted his law enforcement endorsements. 

“The Fraternal Order of Police. The North Carolina Troopers Association. The list goes on and on,” Budd said. “The Police Benevolent Association. They all at one point endorsed Cheri Beasley. But now they know me. They know her. And they have endorsed me.”

But Beasley argues that Budd, her opponent in a race that’s one of a handful across the country in November’s midterm elections that will likely determine if Republicans win back the Senate majority, “has been all talk and no action” when it comes to support for law enforcement.

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In an interview Wednesday with Fox News after touring Jim Edwards’ family farm in Burnsville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge mountains north of Asheville, Beasley argued that during his tenure in the House, Budd “had four opportunities to vote in favor of funding for law enforcement, to make sure that they have opportunities for recruitment and retaining their officers, to fight the opioid crisis. And Congressman Budd has voted no each of those four times. He’s the last one to give a lecture on public safety.

“I’ve spent over two decades as a judge and as chief justice of the Supreme Court working with law enforcement to keep us safe. I’ve created the first human trafficking court here in North Carolina to hold violent offenders accountable and to support our victims,” Beasley added. “I have been supported by sheriffs and law enforcement officers across this state who we worked in tandem to keep our communities safe. I think that speaks volumes.”

Asked about her support for cashless bail for nonviolent offenders, Beasley pivoted. 

“We all know that actions speak louder than words,” she said, “and Congressman Budd has been all talk and no action.”

Budd takes issue with such claims, and a press release from his congressional office notes that, just two weeks ago, the three-term representative and gun store owner “voted for House measures to provide more resources to police departments across North Carolina.”

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Budd told Fox News the votes Beasley spotlighted were “a political vote led by Nancy Pelosi. I can’t support that.

“But don’t take my word for it,” he added as he pointed to his law enforcement endorsements.

Speaking to the audience a few minutes later, Budd tied crime to another issue of concern to conservatives: border security. 

“It’s all connected because what’s happening down at the border 72 hours later, that’s right here,” he argued. “You’ve got trick-or-treating coming up, and some of you all have some young folks in your family and are wondering, ‘Is my candy safe this year? Is it fentanyl or is it real candy this year?’ It’s a real challenge you all. Law enforcement is coming up to me — sheriffs, police officers — they come up to me. Leaders in their communities, and they go, ‘Every single county is a border county because of Joe Biden’s policies.’”

Budd was introduced by Trump Jr., who remains very popular with the MAGA base across the country.

Pointing to some Senate Republicans, the younger Trump argued, “We have some guys that will roll over each and every time. With a Mitt Romney in there, who exactly needs Democrats?

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“Ted will be the opposite. Ted actually has the guts to fight back, to push back and get back in there. To push for our values, to fight for our freedoms.”

Former President Trump’s endorsement of Budd last year and his headlining of a rally for the congressman ahead of North Carolina’s primary helped Budd to a nomination victory in a divisive GOP showdown. Trump returned to North Carolina to campaign with Budd late last month.

“I’m an America First candidate,” Budd told Fox News.

“People believe America First polices are what’s best for this state — leading to low unemployment, low crime, low inflation. Those are the things we’ve got to get back to. Donald Trump endorsed me for those reasons. Don Jr. is here today, and I’m very appreciative of their support.”

Budd, in the interview, was also asked about abortion.

Beasley heavily criticizes Budd for his stance on the combustible issue, which soared in importance in the wake of a late June blockbuster opinion by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and send the battle over legalized abortion back to the states.

“We know that this extremist position on abortion that Congressman Budd has taken is totally out of sync with how the majority of North Carolinians view this very important issue,” Beasley said. “With such an extreme position, it means that women with ectopic pregnancies and septic uterus and miscarriages that their bodies will not release will not be able to get the lifesaving treatment that they need, which is an abortion, and it means that women will die. And that’s unacceptable. And I’m prepared to fight to make sure that Roe v. Wade becomes the law of the land.”

Budd is a co-sponsor of a bill authored by GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of neighboring South Carolina that would implement a 15-week federal restriction on abortions. The measure includes some exceptions in the cases of rape, incest involving a minor and when a woman’s life is in danger.

“I’ve always been pro-life, even before I was in politics,” Budd told Fox News.

Asked about exceptions to the abortion ban he supports, Budd said I’ve always been pro-life, including the life of the mother. So I’ve always been very consistent on that.”

And he once again took aim at Beasley for supporting abortions up until birth, which she has repeatedly denied. 

“I’ve been very clear in my position. I support the protections and the restrictions outlined in the framework of Roe v. Wade. And so that means that abortions later in pregnancy don’t happen unless there’s a serious problem with the pregnancy, and that’s risk to a mother’s health,” Beasley told Fox News.

Pointing to Beasley’s support for a Democratic bill that would cement abortion rights at the federal level, Budd said, “They’re going to do the most radical bill in history when it comes to abortion, the Women’s Health Protection Act.”