After entering the largely anticipated U.S. Senate race to replace North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, Michele Morrow is wasting no time reminding voters of her extreme stances.
Morrow ran for State Superintendent in 2024 and won the Republican primary against then sitting Superintendent Catherine Truitt. Morrow quickly garnered statewide attention for her crass comments online and in interviews; from claiming the LGBTQ+ community includes pedophiles to calling for the public execution of Democratic politicians.
North Carolina voters rejected Morrow’s extremist views at the ballot box, and she ultimately lost the race. However, Morrow has joined a lineup of Republicans to replace Senator Thom Tillis, who announced last year that he would not be seeking reelection. The winning candidate is expected to run against the Democratic frontrunner, former Governor Roy Cooper. Morrow thinks she’s that candidate, but she’s already showing voters why she shouldn’t be.
Following the arrest of a resident teenager for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on New Year’s Eve, Morrow shared a post on the social media site “X” from far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, accusing Cooper of “setting North Carolinians up to be murdered by ISIS”. Loomer points to Cooper’s 2024 proclamation of Muslim Heritage Month. Omitting the fact that Cooper has signed such declarations for other groups like American Indian Heritage Month, Hispanic And Latino Heritage Month, and African Diaspora Heritage Month.
Morrow added to Loomer’s rant, “Once again, NC is making headlines for all the WRONG reasons. We have a duty as North Carolinians to protect the country from the disastrous agenda of Roy Cooper”. In actuality, Morrow is the one with the disastrous agenda, supporting a post that spreads hateful and dangerous stereotypes. ISIS is not Islam, and it poses a real danger to real people to conflate the two– it’s not just wrong, it’s harmful.
As Cooper mentioned in his proclamation, “Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with 1.9 billion devotees worldwide and about 3.5 million in the United States, and Muslims are the fastest-growing demographic in the United States”. He adds that North Carolina is home to 130,000 Muslims, the 11th highest in the country.
Voters rejected Morrow’s extreme views that fueled her 2024 campaign, and now she’s showing that nothing has changed for her Senate campaign. This type of extremism does not belong in North Carolina, and certainly not in a campaign for a position that is meant to represent the diverse people of this state.
