With the November midterm elections right around the corner, Congressman Ted Budd, a Republican, aims to defeat Democratic challenger, Cheri Beasley, and fill Senator Richard Burr’s soon to be vacant seat in the U.S Senate.
Budd was born in Winston-Salem in 1971 and was raised in a working-class family. He attended Summit School in Winston-Salem, and later attended Davie County High School, graduating in 1990. Budd studied business at Appalachian State University, graduating in 1994, and went on to receive a master's in business administration from the Wake Forest University School of Business in 2007.
Most recently, Budd has been serving as the U.S. Representative for District 13, assuming office in 2017 after a contentious battle against 17 candidates. He currently resides on the Committee for Financial Services (serving on the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions and Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion) and is a member of the Freedom Caucus.
Budd’s campaign website refers to President Joe Biden’s “incompetence” as a primary motivator for running. Budd is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Budd has focused on the results of the 2020 presidential elections. Budd was one of 126 House of Representatives Republicans that contested the results of the presidential election by supporting the filing of Texas v. Pennsylvania. This lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review election results in Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Biden emerged victorious over Trump.
Furthermore, Budd was also one of 139 House Republicans that objected to the formal certification of the 2020 presidential election results on January 6, 2021. Budd has advertised the need to “safeguard elections” by enacting more voter ID requirements.
When asked at an October debate with Beasley whether he believed that the results of the 2022 election would be legitimate, he said he did. He also acknowledged the legitimacy of Biden’s electoral victory in 2020, but stood by his prior vote not to certify the results of the election.
Budd is pro-life and has previously said in the debate that he has “always been about protecting the life of the mother. I want to save as many unborn lives as possible.”
In September, Budd co-signed House Resolution 8814, which would instate a national ban on the procedure after 15 weeks. During the debate, however, he did not specify how far he believes restrictions should go in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother. And despite his support for the H.R. 8814, he said in regards to the Dobbs ruling that the issue of abortion access should be left to the states.
Budd supports anti-trust legislation and is a staunch advocate of protecting Second Amendment gun rights as a small-business owner of a gun store. Budd also believes in funding and expanding law enforcement. His platform includes ensuring new jobs are created rather than the “socialist” policies of Build Back Better and the Green New Deal, according to his website.
In the debate against Beasley, Budd laid blame for inflation at the feet of the Biden administration, whose COVID relief packages he said went “way too far” and promoted unnecessary spending. Budd proposed cutting regulations, which he says hurt small businesses, and approving more energy projects.
For more information about voting in the 2022 midterm elections, visit The Chronicle’s voter guide.
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