U.S. Senate candidates Ted Budd and Cheri Beasley met on the debate stage for the first time Friday and discussed the former and current presidents, where they stand on policy issues and who was actually elected to the White House in 2020.
Budd, the Republican nominee and a current member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Beasley, the Democratic nominee and the state’s former Supreme Court chief justice, had avoided all debates in 2022 until now.
The candidates agreed to meet for one debate, on Spectrum News 1, a subscription cable network that made the debate public on its website and app. The debate was moderated by political reporter Tim Boyum.
North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race hasn’t garnered as much attention as others despite the candidates polling closer than in most states. Friday’s debate showed the most spunk seen thus far from its two participants, but not the typical spark one would expect from candidates competing for the unaffiliated voters who make up the state’s largest group.
At stake is Democrats’ hold on their majority in the Senate. North Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and if Beasley wins to replace retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr, she would become the first Black senator from North Carolina.
Here are five top takeaways from the night:
Beasley keeps her distance from Biden
When members of the Biden administration visited North Carolina during the current campaign season, Beasley’s absence didn’t go unnoticed. Despite that, her opponent repeatedly called her a rubber stamp for President Joe Biden.
In Budd’s closing statement Friday night he said, “Joe Biden is on the ballot on Nov. 8, and he goes by the name this year of Cheri Beasley, because she will be a rubber stamp.”
Boyum asked Beasley if she was avoiding appearing alongside Biden officials, if she wanted Biden to campaign for her in North Carolina and whether she would be his rubber stamp in Washington.
Beasley said Biden and Congress “could work a whole lot harder” to lower inflation, laying a share of that blame on Budd. She said she’s glad when Biden comes to North Carolina to hear the state’s challenges and its successes and to meet residents.
“It’s wrong to align me with anybody unless I specifically say what my positions are, and I’m glad to talk about my positions, because my positions really do support people here in North Carolina …” Beasley said.
Boyum didn’t let up from his question and asked Beasley to answer whether she would stand on stage with Biden if he called and said he would campaign with her next week.
“You know, if it’s an official visit, we’ll just have to see if that’s something that’s available,” Beasley said.
Beasley was asked if Biden should run for reelection.
“I don’t think he’s going to ask me, and so we’ll see what happens,” Beasley said.
Budd says Biden is president
On Jan. 6, 2021, Budd was one of many members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden’s election.
On Friday night, Budd acknowledged that Biden is the president of the United States.
“I don’t like what Joe Biden is doing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. … but he is the president and unfortunately, he’s destroying our country,” Budd said. “He’s got 70% of the people saying we’re on the wrong track. I don’t like what he’s doing, but he is the president.”
He was asked if he stood by his vote against certifying Biden’s election.
“The core of that vote, Tim, was to inspire more debate, because I think debate is healthy for democracy, so that’s what it led to,” Budd said. “We didn’t have the votes to overturn it, but of course, having the debate was a healthy thing, and I do stand by it.”
Rioters hoping to force Congress out of certifying Biden’s election stormed the U.S. Capitol before Budd cast his vote in the middle of the night. A Senate report blames the riot for the deaths of at least seven people.
Budd aligns with Trump
Budd did not shy away from his connection to former President Donald Trump and reminded viewers that Trump won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020.
Budd went on to tout a better economy, lower inflation, record unemployment and growing wages under Trump’s administration.
“President Trump endorsed me before, and I don’t run away from that like my opponent may be running away from Joe Biden, even though she’s a rubber stamp for his policies,” Budd said. “She would be a rubber stamp for him. He endorsed me because I’m an America First candidate and I believe in the things that led to that 1.4% inflation, that led to record low unemployment for women, for people of color, for Hispanics, so again, he had a lot of wins here in the state, including for our economy, including for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.”
Beasley, on the other hand, said Trump represents the most extremist policies and ideologies and pointed out that when he recently visited Wilmington, the former president called her a “Marxist liberal.”
“The reality is that Congressman Budd has aligned himself with somebody who was truly an extremist, in this race, and that’s a reflection on him, so folks need to be reminded of that as they’re thinking about the clear choice that can be made here in this race,” Beasley said.
Differences on legalizing marijuana
Both Budd and Beasley were asked where they stood on legalizing marijuana.
On Thursday, Biden announced he would pardon federal convictions for simple possession of marijuana and encouraged state officials to follow suit.
Budd said he believes the president overstepped his authority. He said he does not support legalizing marijuana and thinks doing so sends a bad message to children.
“If someone can prove to me that there is a medical case for marijuana, we can certainly have that discussion,” Budd said, after saying he is absolutely opposed to recreational use.
Beasley said she would legalize both recreational and medical use.
Two more candidates
Beasley and Budd are not the only candidates in the U.S. Senate race.
Shannon Bray, a Libertarian, and Green Party candidate Matthew Hoh will also appear on the ballot on Nov. 8, but weren’t invited to debate.
Instead, Spectrum interviewed the two men in a preshow that aired an hour earlier.
Hoh told Spectrum his focus is on housing issues like rent control and banning banks and corporations from buying single-family homes. He supports a single-payer health care system.
Both he and Bray want to end the war on drugs.
Bray added that he wants to fight inflation through tax reduction and increasing transparency in the government.
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