North Carolina has not elected a Democrat to a U.S. Senate seat in over a decade. The last time was in 2008 when former Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) handily beat former GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). Since then it’s been an uphill battle for Dems in a difficult political environment. Dems came close in 2020 with Cal Cunningham until an extramarital affair derailed the campaign.
With Ted Budd, an extreme right candidate who has ties to the Jan. 6th insurrection, running for the Republicans, many voters will be looking for an alternative. Beasley’s high qualifications, early public support, and an impressive list of endorsements, gives her an excellent chance of being that choice for voters.
In a push to ensure investment from the Democratic party into Beasley’s campaign Gov. Roy Cooper was recently quoted saying, “She’s going to bring out a lot of voters that may not have come to the polls before at a time when we need them.” Cooper, who won gubernatorial elections in 2016 and 2020, then added, “Those who may tend to vote Republican will look to Cheri Beasley as an acceptable alternative to the ultra-right wing, which Ted Budd obviously represents.”
There has been plenty of speculation that with so many other high priority elections Dems might just leave North Carolina out of its funding plans this year. However, the recent 1.3 million dollar investment into pro-Beasley ads from the Senate Majority PAC signals that Beasley’s campaign will get the investments it needs, allowing her to not only be the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, but to be the first Black woman to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
