Daughtry drops out of Triangle-area congressional race, Knott responds to endorsement

Republican Kelly Daughtry is ending her campaign for a Triangle-area congressional seat and endorsing her opponent — effectively ending a political battle over which candidate was the true conservative in the race and likely clearing a path for the district’s next representative.

Daughtry, an attorney from Johnston County, had been competing for the Republican Party nomination in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District against Brad Knott, a former assistant U.S. attorney from Raleigh. Early voting has already started and Election Day is May 14.

It’s too late for election officials to take Daughtry’s name off the ballot, but she announced on Facebook Thursday that she’s ending her campaign and endorsing Knott. Daughtry said she didn’t want to go against former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Knott last month.

"As a candidate, it is my duty to be transparent and honest with my team, supporters, and the voters. In light of President Trump's endorsement of Brad Knott for the Congressional seat in District 13, it has become clear that a pathway to victory is no longer feasible. I believe in the democratic process and respect the endorsement of our President," Daughtry said in a statement.

"The time has now come to suspend my campaign," she said. "Although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in. I will focus on conservative voter registration operations and supporting the nominated conservative judicial candidates running in November."

She continued: "I extend my congratulations to (Knott) and wish him well. Brad has my full endorsement, and I want him to know that I am here to support him, not to oppose him."

Knott issued a statement shortly after, thanking Daughtry for her endorsement and encouraging voters to head to the polls.

"While Kelly has ended her campaign, this election is not over. I strongly encourage my supporters to get out and vote on May 14," he said. "I will have a longer statement once the election results are final on May 14. But for now, with Kelly in my corner, I hope this becomes a uniting moment for Republicans in the 13th Congressional District."

Knott will face Democrat Frank Pierce in the general election and is expected to win. U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, the district’s Democratic incumbent, isn’t seeking reelection because state lawmakers recently redrew the district to give Republicans a significant statistical advantage.

Pierce said Daughtry's drop out may be another example of outsiders overruling the will of the voters.

"I think it shows D.C. is involved in the race ... putting its finger on the race to tip it their way," Pierce told WRAL.

Republican political insiders predicted early on that Knott, who is in his first run for public office, would contend for the seat.

Knott’s experience as a federal prosecutor afforded him a campaign message that stood out in the district’s field of 14 GOP primary candidates. Knott tells voters that he’s qualified to address crime and immigration in Congress because he helped put drug traffickers behind bars. Crime and immigration are top issues for Republican voters, so Knott’s campaign message was good enough for second place in the March 5 primary.

Until Trump’s endorsement, though, Republican insiders still considered Daughtry the favorite in the runoff.

Candidates rarely pull out at this point. Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, thinks Daughtry's decision is an attempt to save political face.

"My assumption is she's trying to make some more friends of the party," Cooper said. "Clearly this (race) was creating some division."

Daughtry already had some name recognition in the district and received endorsements from many elected officials in the area. She’s a native of Johnston County, home to many of the district’s voters. Her father represented the area in the state legislature for decades. And Daughtry ran for the same congressional seat previously, placing third in 2022.

Messaging for her campaign has focused on helping farmers, cutting government spending, tougher policies on China and tightening border security.

Republican insiders believed Daughtry’s personal wealth — she spent more than $5 million on her two congressional campaigns — would enable her to pay for an effective advertising campaign ahead of the May 14 runoff.

In early April, Daughtry appeared to be on her way to victory. Her campaign announced that its internal polling showed her up 19 percentage points on Knott.

But that survey was conducted before Trump’s involvement in the race.

In a social media post on April 5, Trump praised Knott and attacked Daughtry.

“Brad Knott is a strong patriot who is running for congress in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District against a RINO, Kelly Daughtry, who has given money to Far Left Democrats, pledged to vote for Obama, and is no friend of MAGA,” Trump posted referring to the Make America Great Again movement and using the acronym for “Republican in name only” to describe Daughtry.

Still, David McLennan, a political scientist at Meredith College, said he was surprised she dropped out.

"I bet she'd had some internal polling that showed, with just a little time before the election, that there's no way to catch up," McLennan said.

In many ways, the race to represent the more than 700,000 Triangle-area residents in the district became about which candidate was the most conservative, with Knott and Daughtry accusing each other of holding secret liberal beliefs.

Daughtry donated $250 to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley in 2021 and $500 to Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s reelection campaign in 2020. Stein is now running for governor against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who Trump endorsed.

In a 2012 Facebook post, Daughtry said she planned to vote for Obama. (Her campaign says she ultimately voted for Romney.)

Knott mentioned the Facebook post and donations to Democrats in attack ads against Daughtry. Daughtry, meanwhile, attacked Knott for working as a federal prosecutor under the Biden administration and for voting from the wrong address.

The Knott campaign says Daughtry’s attacks were all for naught. In a press release Monday, the Knott campaign announced the results of an internal poll showing that Knott had an “insurmountable lead” and had “no path to victory.”

The North Carolina Republican Party thanked Daughtry for trying to unify voters ahead of the election.

“Kelly has run a strong campaign rooted in her conservatism,” Jason Simmons, the state party chairman, said in a statement. “Her decision is one that puts her values and her party above her own personal gain. Her continued involvement will ensure Republicans win up and down the ballot in November.”

Brad Knott reacts to Daughtry's endorsement

Kelly Daughtry dropped out of the race, seemingly handing her opponent Brad Knott the nomination.

Knott feels honored to be in this position.

The winner of the race is likely to get a seat in Congress, especially since lawmakers are redrawing the maps to favor Republicans.

Meanwhile, Frank Pierce, the Democratic opponent, is still determined for the November election.

Knott has been going from house to house in Johnston County to talk to people.

He's trying hard to get people to vote for him in the upcoming May 14 runoff election.

Responding to questions about his thoughts on the decision and any surprise he felt, he simply said, 'Somewhat.'"

"Response-somewhat surprised," Brad Knott, Seeking Nomination for 13th Congressional District, said. "They ran a very tough campaign; they put a lot into it."

Both Knott and Daughtry positioned themselves as loyalists to former President Trump's agenda.

Daughtry, a Johnston County attorney now throwing her weight behind her former opponent, saying :

"In light of President Trump's endorsement of Brad Knott for the Congressional seat in District 13, it has become clear that a pathway to victory is no longer feasible."

"Momentum was certainly building and when he jumped on, it was like adding fuel to the tank, for sure," Knott said.

During a phone conversation, Frank Pierce, the Democratic candidate for Congress, says that it indicates Washington D.C. is influencing the race, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) is trying to sway it in their favor.

Strong allegations from Frank Pierce, the Democratic candidate Knott, will face in November.

He knows the high stakes as the newly drawn district heavily favors Republicans.

"They redrew the map, but you can only redraw it for people who have voted," Pierce said. "Our goal is to turn out the voters who haven't voted, give them a voice in this election, and make them feel wanted. Their voices matter."