Pence visits Raleigh for GOP fundraiser as Budd seeks final-week edge over Beasley in close Senate race

Former Vice President Mike Pence came to Raleigh Wednesday as part of a final-week push for money and attention in a race that could decide control of the U.S. Senate.

Pence headlined a noon fundraiser hosted by Art Pope, a well known Republican donor and ally of former Gov. Pat McCrory, whom U.S. Rep. Ted Budd beat in the May GOP primary for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat. Pence also sat with Budd and state GOP Chairman Michael Whatley for a 20-minute “fireside chat” at the state party headquarters, then lingered for selfies with Republican volunteers and invite-only guests.

The visit was part of a multi-state tour for Pence, who stumped for Republicans in Georgia the day before, and part of a blizzard of events for Budd and his Democratic opponent, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley. Tuesday is Election Day.

Pence’s visit may appeal to voters who don’t like Trump but consider themselves Republicans, Catawba College political scientist Mike Bitzer said. This is a subset of the party, “but probably a critical component” for Budd, Bitzer said.

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Pope, who served as McCrory’s budget director, called Pence “a unifying figure.” At the GOP headquarters event, Pence hit common Republican themes, calling Beasley a “rubber stamp” for Biden administration economic policies and harking back to Trump’s administration, when gas prices were lower and inflation wasn’t an issue Americans talked about.

“I’m here because I support Ted Budd,” Pence said. “This country’s in a lot of trouble.”

Beasley held at least four events Wednesday, hitting Raleigh, Pittsboro, Hillsborough and Durham. She visited polling sites, held a “community conversation” and attended a “Women for Beasley” event that zeroed in on abortion rights.

“It couldn’t be more clear what this election means for our future,” Beasley said at that event in Raleigh. “For our children and for our families. This election will decide whether we can protect our rights, to make our own decisions for our bodies.”

Beasley has backed codification of Roe vs. Wade, protecting abortion rights much as they existed before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that decision earlier this year. Budd has signed a bill banning abortions, outside of medical emergencies, after 15 weeks, but he has also expressed support for an abortion ban back to conception.

Much of Budd’s closing message has been on the economy, and he said Wednesday that inflation has left too many Americans unable to afford things they could two years ago.

“Those are choices that Joe Biden has put on American families,” he said.

“Congress can fix this, and we know that congressman Ted Budd has been there in service for six years,” Beasley said, referring to Budd’s three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. “And he’s not fixing it.”

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Thursday, Beasley is scheduled to be in Johnston, Vance and Wilson counties for campaign events. Budd is scheduled to attend a “save our schools” rally in Goldsboro focused on “stopping the radical indoctrination underway in K-12 schools,” according to organizers.

Early voting is underway in this race and in dozens of others down the ballot. Early voting runs through 3 p.m. Saturday. Even people who aren’t registered to vote can vote early in North Carolina, registering and voting on the same day. That option isn’t available on Election Day.

Most voters vote early in North Carolina, and Bitzer said so far turnout is running a bit ahead of the state’s last midterm election in 2018. But that election didn’t have a U.S. Senate race at the top of the ticket driving turnout.

Bitzer said turnout for voters under the age of 40 so far has been “abysmal,” a bad sign for Beasley. These younger voters are 40% of registered voters in North Carolina, but so far they only account for 15% of the early vote, Bitzer said.