Editorial
Last weekend, Sarah Stevens and the North Carolina 12th Congressional District Republican Party chose to cancel a fundraiser rather than face accountability from the people of North Carolina.
On Sunday, a group of more than 30 North Carolinians gathered alongside a busy road just outside Uptown Charlotte, prepared to peacefully protest Sarah Stevens’ record of protecting and associating with predators like Harvey West.
Stevens nor the rest of the statewide Republican judicial candidates expected at the event were in attendance. In fact, the entire “cornhole classic” Republican fundraiser appeared to be canceled.
The event had been scheduled for months, advertised to nearly 90,000 followers of the North Carolina GOP on Facebook. As recently as a few weeks ago, the vice chair of the 12th District GOP was promoting the event to take place at 1100 Central Avenue.
Instead, pro-Democracy demonstrators, who had planned to amass across the street from the event, covered both sides of 10th Street, waving signs with slogans like “Sarah – Return Predator’s Money!” Charlotte motorists frequently honked in support of the demonstrators as they drove by.
The fundraiser’s apparent cancellation comes as North Carolina Republicans have tried to replace the major “judicial picnic” fundraiser that was previously hosted annually at the estate of convicted child sex offender Harvey West.
Last month, the Guilford Republican Men hosted a “judicial picnic” of their own, where Stevens, Newby, and the Republican judicial slate were met with large protest banners. It is unclear if the protest outside the Greensboro event caused the NCGOP to cancel the “Cornhole Classic.” The Charlotte fundraiser’s event pages were not updated with information about the reason for the apparent cancellation.
Earlier this year, the Outer Banks Insider and Asheville Watchdog released reporting bringing attention to West and his ties to prominent Republican leaders. West, who was the chair of North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District GOP, pleaded guilty to multiple offenses of indecent liberties involving three girls when he was a police officer.
Since the reporting, state Republicans, including Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, Sarah Stevens, and Chief Justice Paul Newby, have come under fire for their ties to a convicted sex offender and major financial backer for NCGOP campaigns.
The judicial picnic event held by West was so important for funding NCGOP judicial campaigns that Chief Justice Paul Newby reportedly recruited a primary opponent to take out a candidate who refused to fundraise from West.
Stevens received $4,000 in exchange for attending West’s 2025 Judicial Picnic, where she was photographed with West. She has refused and ignored calls for her to return the money or donate it to a charity that supports victims of child sexual abuse.
In recent weeks, Stevens has been criticized in advertising from NC Families First that highlights a pattern of her protecting child sex abusers.
