Tillis virus, Cunningham texts halt appearances by Senate candidates

North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is viewed as critical in the balance of power on Capitol Hill. But neither candidate is campaigning right now.

Posted 8:47 p.m. Oct 5, 2020 — Updated 12:09 a.m. Oct 6, 2020

Laura Leslie

, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief, & Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is viewed as critical in the balance of power on Capitol Hill. But neither candidate is campaigning right now.

Republican Sen, Thom Tillis remains in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, while Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham is avoiding public appearances after admitting to exchanging sexually charged texts with a married woman.

Cunningham backed out a Facebook town hall meeting Monday afternoon and has declined to respond to WRAL News' questions about the extent of his extramarital relationship.

Republicans wasted no time in getting attack ads on television asking "what else is he hiding" of Cunningham.

Arlene Guzman Todd, the woman who exchanged texts with Cunningham, is a California public relations strategist who lived in Raleigh a few years ago and the wife of an Army veteran. First reported by conservative website, National File, Cunningham calls Todd "historically sexy," and texts about setting up a meeting and rolling over and kissing her.

"I have hurt my family, disappointed my friends and am deeply sorry," Cunningham said in a statement. "The first step in repairing those relationships is taking complete responsibility, which I do."

But he stopped short of admitting an affair with Todd, who also didn't respond to WRAL's questions about the relationship.

"North Carolinians deserve to know the full extent of Cal Cunningham’s misconduct with the wife of a military combat veteran," North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley said. "If Cal Cunningham has nothing additional to hide, he should have no problem releasing all of the text messages."

Cunningham has touted his military career throughout his campaign, and a relationship with Todd could jeopardize that.

"It is clear that adultery is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It is not clear whether sexting has something to do with a criminal infraction under the code. Perhaps it is conduct unbecoming an officer. I don't know," said Raleigh attorney Mark Sullivan, a retired Army Judge Advocate General's Corps officer.

Sullivan declined to comment specifically about Cunningham's case but called adultery and related improper conduct the "kiss of death" for Army officers.

"There's a serious concern that the conduct of the individual may make it impossible for him or her to be promoted or may result in a prompt retirement," he said.

Whatley said the text exchanges show Cunningham is untrustworthy.

"When you look at the overall story here, it’s not just this one-off instance. It really goes to the truth of the integrity of Cal as a candidate," he said.

Whatley said Cunningham's admission fundamentally changes the course of the race, which has become the most expensive U.S. Senate campaign this year but one where Tillis has consistently trailed in the polls.

Longtime political observer Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College, disagrees, noting this isn't a normal election year with a global pandemic even hitting President Donald Trump's campaign.

"The issue of PG-rated texts along with a candidate catching COVID, we see the president having done this," Bitzer said.

Tillis is also catching flak for photos that show he wasn’t wearing a mask at an indoor White House reception linked to a cluster of cases.

"For both sides, I think they’re hoping that the news cycle shifts to something else, and if 2020 has taught us anything, it will happen within 24 to maybe 48 hours," Bitzer said.

State Democratic leaders declined to comment Monday on the Cunningham news.

"The polls I’ve seen show that Medicaid expansion is the No. 1, health care is the No. 1 issue in North Carolina, and that’s what we’re going to talk about for the next month," said Rep. Darren Jackson, D-Wake.

Meanwhile, a Tillis spokesman said that the senator "feels great" and that he has regained his senses of taste and smell, which the coronavirus is known to ravage.

"He is no longer exhibiting any symptoms and will continue to self-isolate," the spokesman said in a statement. "Senator Tillis and his wife, Susan, remain grateful for the outpouring of prayers and well wishes they've received from North Carolinians."

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