North Carolina Rep. Budd Enters Race for US Senate Seat

President Donald Trump and then-GOP congressional candidate Ted Budd at a Make America Great Again rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 26, 2018. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, said on April 28 that he will seek to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in the U.S. Senate in 2022.

Budd, 49, who owns a gun store, was first elected to Congress in 2016.

“I’m a small businessman who was so fed up with the liberals’ attacks on our faith, our families, and our way of life that I ran for Congress to stand and fight alongside Donald Trump to drain the swamp and take our country back,” Budd said in his campaign announcement video, before using file footage of Trump praising him.

Budd said he’s 100 percent pro-life, supports fair and secure elections, and border enforcement. He views the Senate’s role as acting as an obstacle to President Joe Biden.

“We all know that Joe Biden is a weak leader who won’t stand up to the radical left. Today, the U.S. Senate is the last line of defense against becoming a woke socialist wasteland, and I’m running to stop that. Period,” he said.

Democrats currently control the 50–50 Senate, due to the tiebreaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris in her constitutional role as president of the chamber.

Budd received an endorsement from the Club for Growth, a super political action committee, which called him “one of the most conservative members of the House.” The organization first endorsed him in 2016.

Then-Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 18, 2019. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Budd is the third standout Republican to announce a bid for the Senate seat, following former Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) and former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump has not yet decided whether to run; she’s received encouragement to do so.

Walker welcomed Budd to the race, telling The Associated Press, “All conservatives in North Carolina must stand together so we do not elect another establishment politician to the Senate who says one thing when running and does another when elected.”

Bobbie Richardson, chair of the state Democratic Party, called Budd “a far-right Freedom Caucus extremist” while noting he joined other members of Congress in voting on Jan. 6 against electoral votes from several states because of concerns about election irregularities.

Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, and political watchers believe the 2022 race to see who represents the state in the Senate alongside Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) will be close.

Democratic candidates in the running for the seat include pharmacist Ava Edwards, state Sen. Jeff Jackson, and small-business owner Tobias LaGrone.

Candidates have until Dec. 17 to file.