Congressman Budd’s campaign continues to rake in news about Budd being an “election denier.” The News & Observer reported that Budd “declined to say whether he would accept this year’s election results,” and his campaign “did not respond to the questions about accepting the 2020 and 2022 election results.” The outlet emphasized that “Budd voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election in Congress, hours after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.”

An opinion piece in the Charlotte Observer slammed Budd for his “refusal to answer a basic question” about the 2022 election results, as one of Donald Trump’s “acolytes” who continue to tout the Big Lie. The piece highlighted the fact that “as a congressman, Budd objected to the certification of the [2020] Electoral College results and spent months echoing Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.”

Read the highlights here:

News & Observer: Senate candidate Ted Budd declines to say if he’ll accept 2022 election results

• U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, the Republican candidate for a North Carolina seat in the U.S. Senate, declined to say whether he would accept this year’s election results in response to questions from the New York Times, Washington Post and, in follow-up inquiries, from The News & Observer.
• The Post said it asked candidates “whether they will accept the results of their contests,” listing Budd in the category of “no/did not respond,” and his Democratic opponent, Cheri Beasley, in the “yes” category. The Times reported that Budd’s campaign declined to commit to accepting results and also made a claim, without evidence, that Beasley might try to disenfranchise voters.
• Samantha Cotten, communications director for the Budd campaign, did not respond to the questions about accepting the 2020 and 2022 election results. Budd voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election in Congress, hours after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Charlotte Observer: Opinion: Ted Budd’s refusal to answer a basic question shows he really is an election denier

• The Washington Post listed Budd as one of 12 Republican nominees who either refused to commit to accepting the outcome of their elections or declined to respond altogether.
• As a congressman, Budd objected to the certification of the Electoral College results and spent months echoing Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.
• He has since reiterated his “tremendous constitutional concerns about how the election of 2020 happened.”
• Donald Trump and his acolytes seem to believe that ascendance to public office is something they are owed, and the only acceptable outcome of an election is the one in which they win.
• That, coupled with their outright refusal to commit to the peaceful transfer of power, should be disqualifying to any voter who believes that democracy matters.

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