Weekly Recap: A look at NC's swingiest congressional district and fundraising battles
This week, I profiled the 1st Congressional District GOP primary race between Laurie Buckhout and Sandy Smith and took a look at how candidates are doing financially entering the primary home stretch.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a weekly recap, in part due to a couple stories that I had spent weeks working on: Profiling the 1st Congressional District race and examining allegations of a Triangle congressional candidate pursuing an extramarital affair. Both stories are available to Anderson Alerts members, and a more comprehensive piece on the 1st District race between Republicans Sandy Smith and Laurie Buckhout is available here via The Assembly.
Let’s dive right in to the news you need to know…
🥊 Intense 1st District Battle
In eastern North Carolina, Smith and Buckhout must appeal to moderate voters if they want to defeat Rep. Don Davis in November in the state’s lone tossup district. But first, they must get through their primary, which means appealing to the most fervent Republicans.
There’s little daylight between the two candidates on policy, as they are running heavily on the issue of immigration and appealing to voters frustrated by the rising costs of goods and services in recent years.
Stylistically, however, the two candidates couldn’t be further apart.
Smith is unapologetically loyal to former President Donald Trump, elevating Trump’s lies in which he’s repeatedly falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election. She’s previously had Trump’d endorsement, though that support didn’t come until she secured her party’s primary nomination. Smith also routinely criticizes Buckhout, referencing a 2017 DUI charge Buckhout later had reduced to a reckless driving misdemeanor.
Smith is also trying to portray Buckhout as out of touch, noting Buckhout moved from Virginia to North Carolina in 2021, buying a home in Edenton along the Albemarle Sound for nearly $2.7 million.
“They all know that Sandy Smith is a very, very strong candidate to take down,” Smith said. “So they figured, if they get a D.C. plant from northern Virginia, they could take me out. Unfortunately, this is a rural country district, not a country club district.”
Buckhout, however, is more reticent to go after Smith, declining to weigh in on the domestic violence allegations that were raised against Smith during the 2022 primary.
“I don’t do sound bites,” Buckhout said. “I’m here to govern and legislate seriously and professionally and with everything I have.”
By the start of in-person early voting on Feb. 15, Buckhout had a strong money advantage over Smith.
While Buckhout’s campaign had nearly $315,000 in available cash through Feb. 14, Smith’s had little more than $55,000. That gap, along with outside spending from the Congressional Leadership Fund, could prove impactful as the March 5 primary quickly approaches.
Between Jan. 1 an Feb. 14, Smith was also heavily outspent, spending less than $102,000 (excluding a $100,000 loan repayment) as Buckhout spent more than $860,000.
🧯Candidate under fire for alleged extramarital affair
A Johnston County educator has accused businessman DeVan Barbour of pursuing an extramarital affair with her, dealing a blow to a leading Republican contender in the 13th Congressional District who has made family values central to his campaign.
In her first public interview describing the alleged advances, middle school teacher Angela McLeod Barbour (no relation to DeVan Barbour) told Anderson Alerts that the congressional hopeful repeatedly propositioned her for sex one night in 2021 by making calls over the phone, Snapchat and FaceTime.
She said she turned down Barbour, who she claims was naked and drunk. “He was fully unclothed. There were phone calls, there were FaceTimes, there were Snapchats. My phone would not stop dinging.”
Barbour said in an interview that no such call or propositioning ever took place. He said McLeod’s allegations are wholly untrue.
“These accusations are 100% false,” Barbour said.
Barbour is widely seen as one of the top four candidates in the Triangle-area 13th Congressional District race, along with businessman Fred Von Canon, attorney Kelly Daughtry and former prosecutor Brad Knott.
While Barbour lacks the sizable financial resources of his top rivals (who are all flooding the television airwaves), he’s the most skilled retailed politicker of the bunch. He’s expressed concerns about the impact the allegations could have on his political future.
“I am a devoted Christian husband, I’m an upstanding member of my community and no opponent really has anything to attack me on, except for a false allegation,” Barbour told me. “And opposing campaigns are going to try and fuel this false allegation to attack me. And it’s a shame.”
McLeod said she felt the need to speak out after she said she heard Barbour endorsed Johnston County School Board Member Ronald Johnson at an event last month, which Barbour denies.
“I still don't want to get DeVan in trouble,” McLeod said. “I don't want this to be seen as revenge, but I also don't want him out there telling everybody I'm a harlot.”
Johnson is facing felony extortion charges for reportedly attempting to use the information McLeod had shared with him about Barbour’s alleged prepositioning as political leverage against Barbour ahead of his 2022 primary. Johnson didn’t respond to requests for comment.
💰 Show me the money
On Friday, I dove into newly released congressional campaign finance data in each of the five GOP congressional primaries I’m tracking. You can read the in-depth takeaways here. A couple highlights you should know:
In the 13th Congressional District, Daughtry released her first campaign finance report, showing what may very well be the most sizable self-financed operation in the state. Daughtry loaned her campaign $2.05 million through Feb. 14. Von Canon, meanwhile, has loaned his campaign $1.69 million since the start of his campaign.
Bad news for pastors: In the Greensboro-area 6th Congressional District, former pastor and U.S. Rep. Mark Walker has seen $950,000 in outside spending against him. In the Charlotte-area 10th Congressional District, pastor Mark Harris has seen $1.6 million in outside spending against him.
🐘 GOP election interference?
Republicans are quietly working against three Democrats: one Council of State candidate and two liberal challengers to more ideologically moderate legislative Democrats.
In the legislative race I’m most closely monitoring, Democratic state Rep. Cecil Brockman of Guilford County is seeking reelection. But Brockman, who has routinely voted across party lines and was tied for the most absent lawmaker in the General Assembly last year, is facing a more liberal primary challenger, James Adams, a former president of the High Point branch of the NAACP.
The conservative Carolina Leadership Coalition is sponsoring mailer ads boosting Brockman, despite being registered as an inactive political group on the State Board of Elections website.
The group is also supporting state Rep. Michael Wray of Northampton County, who has crossed party lines more frequently than any other Democratic state lawmaker. Wray faces a primary challenge from Rodney Pierce, a plaintiff in a redistricting lawsuit challenging the state Senate map.
Finally, the conservative Justice for All political action group is running television ads supporting Satana Deberry for attorney general. Deberry is running against U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, who is widely seen as the frontrunner for the party’s nomination.
The group is hitting the Raleigh airwaves in part with 31 television spots over the past two weeks on WRAL-TV valued at $61,350, according to a contract obtained by Anderson Alerts. WFAE first reported on the super PAC’s involvement in the race.
📌 Save the Date
On Friday, March 8 at 3:45 p.m., I’ll be hosting a panel discussion at the NC News & Information Summit in Durham.
Join me and Spectrum News Anchor Tim Boyum, WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell and The Assembly Managing Editor Kate Sheppard for a candid assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing North Carolina political reporters and the news media at large, both inside and outside the newsroom. We’ll also have audience involvement, with a Q&A at the end.
If you are unable to attend and have any questions you want asked of any panelists, feel free to shoot me a chat via Substack or send me an email with your question and whether there is anybody you’d most like it directed toward. While the event is sold out, folks can add their name onto an attendance waitlist.
👀 What to Watch For This Week
MONDAY-SATURDAY: In-person early voting for the March 5 primary ends at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. For a list of voting sites, visit here.
SATURDAY: In a major boost to lobbyist Addison McDowell, Trump is holding a 2 p.m. rally at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex— just a block away from the congressional district McDowell is running for. The former president’s visit stands to add further unpredictability to what I’d consider North Carolina’s messiest primary contest. Doors open at 11 a.m. Trump is expected to tout his support of McDowell, who is seen as trailing Walker and businessman Bo Hines as the March 5 election nears. Trump’s visit also aims to boost his presidential campaign, as he works to firm up his status as the party’s presumptive nominee and defeat South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
SUNDAY: Get your morning started with an Election Day preview from yours truly highlighting the key races to watch!
Tweet of the Week
This one comes from WUNC’s Colin Campbell, where he took note of the uncertainty of who was actually in charge of North Carolina when both the governor and lieutenant governor were simultaneously out of the state.
For what it’s worth, I reached out to the offices of Gov. Roy Cooper, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore requesting they provide a basic timeline of who was in charge and when. I’ve not heard back.
5 essential reads
3 things to know about this week's Leandro hearing in the NC Supreme Court (Liz Schlemmer // WUNC)
Engrossed in education funding dispute, North Carolina revisits milestone 2022 ruling (Gary Robertson // Associated Press)
Mysterious super PAC promotes Durham DA Satana Deberry's campaign for attorney general (Steve Harrison // WFAE)
Conservative group sends mailer for Brockman (Paul Johnson // High Point Enterprise)
Trump, Trumpier, Trumpiest (Bryan Anderson // The Assembly)
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