Former Hoke County Sheriff Jim Davis is making it clear in a new op-ed that Ted Budd can’t be trusted by law enforcement to do what’s right in the U.S. Senate. Sheriff Davis highlights a pattern of Budd voting against millions of dollars in police funding, including in his own district and to combat the opioid crisis.

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Fayetteville Observer: Former Hoke sheriff: Budd has not stood with law enforcement; Beasley will

• As the former sheriff of Hoke County, there is nothing more important to me than keeping our communities safe. That’s why this week I couldn’t have been more proud to endorse Cheri Beasley’s campaign for U.S. Senate alongside a group of active and retired law enforcement.
• It’s simple — North Carolinians should feel safe where they live, work, learn and worship. That’s why I served as sheriff and spent my career in law enforcement.
• And it’s time we elect a U.S. senator who will stand with law enforcement and fight for what we need to do our jobs.
• That’s not Ted Budd. On the campaign trail, I’ve watched him try to tout his support for law enforcement, but voters should know that his voting record tells a different story. During his time in Congress, Budd voted against billions of dollars in funding for law enforcement.
• Every single year since he’s taken office, he’s opposed police funding. In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, Ted Budd voted against legislation that provided billions of dollars in funding for police, including millions for North Carolina law enforcement, even when North Carolina’s own Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted for these investments.
• With his votes against this legislation, Congressman Budd tried to stand in the way of over $32 million total allocated to law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, $750,000 in funding to hire and retain police for Graham, North Carolina — a city in Budd’s own district, and $7 million to support efforts across the state to combat the opioid crisis.
• Politicians like Ted Budd like to talk a big talk about backing the blue, then turn away from what we need if it doesn’t fit their own political motives. We need a leader in the U.S. Senate who will be an advocate for us, someone who we can count on to get it right and listen to what we need — even if it means going against their own party. Ted Budd has proven that we can’t trust him to deliver for us. His campaign for U.S. Senate has been a bad attempt to airbrush over his failed record of voting against the best interests of his constituents time and time again.
• But I know firsthand that Cheri Beasley will.
• For more than 20 years, Cheri worked with law enforcement to keep communities safe and follow the rule of law. She worked with us to hold dangerous criminals accountable and deliver justice. I am so grateful for her decades of support for law enforcement and know she is exactly who law enforcement needs in the U.S. Senate.
• For over two decades, Cheri has stood with law enforcement. And I know that she’ll stand with us in the Senate, too. I have seen how she leads her life with the integrity and honesty that can be a rare commodity in a place like Washington, DC.
• In just a few months, our state will have a decision to make at the polls. North Carolina — Ted Budd does not deserve your vote this November.

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