RALEIGH – A bevy of current and former state legislators announced their support for U.S. Rep. Ted Budd in the competitive 2022 Republican Senate primary Wednesday.
The list of those publicly backing Budd includes a total of 33 current and former state legislators. Many of those backing Budd served in the General Assembly during the four-year tenure of Gov. Pat McCrory.
“Our campaign is growing stronger every day,” said Jonathan Felts, a senior advisor to Budd. “This large group of legislators represents all geographic regions of North Carolina and urban and rural communities alike. Some of them even ran against Ted in the 2016 primary but now believe Ted Budd is the best choice for North Carolina, demonstrating that Ted is a candidate who can find common ground with folks and get things done.”
The group includes state Sens. Danny Britt, Warren Daniel, Carl Ford, Joyce Krawiec, and Paul Newton and state Reps. Jamie Boles, Julia Howard, Frank Iler, Larry Pittman, and Jason Saine,
“Everyone focuses on our tax reform efforts in 2013 but often overlook how important our regulatory reform effort was for job creation in North Carolina. Other folks just didn’t get it and hampered our efforts at more significant regulatory reform. Ted Budd is a businessman who understands that tax relief is only half the battle; our job creators must have regulatory relief as well for the maximum positive impact,” said Saine (R-Lincoln).
The endorsements come as the third fundraising quarter of the year finishes on Sept. 30.
The full list of legislators endorsing Budd are:
Sen. Ted Alexander (NC-44)
Rep. Kristin Baker, MD (NC-82)
Rep. James Boles, Jr. (NC-52)
Sen. Danny Britt, Jr. (NC-13)
Sen. Jim Burgin (NC-12)
Sen. Warren Daniel (NC-46)
Sen. Carl Ford (NC-33)
Rep. Julia Howard (NC-77)
Rep. Frank Iler (NC-17)
Rep. Jake Johnson (NC-113)
Rep. Keith Kidwell (NC-79)
Sen. Joyce Krawiec (NC-31)
Sen. Michael Lazzara (NC-06)
Sen. Tom McInnis (NC-25)
Rep. Jeffrey McNeely (NC-84)
Rep. Grey Mills (NC-95)
Sen. Paul Newton (NC-36)
Rep. Ray Pickett (NC-93)
Rep. Larry Pittman (NC-83)
Rep. Larry Potts (NC-81)
Rep. Jason Saine (NC-97)
Rep. Mitchell Setzer (NC-89)
Rep. Harry Warren (NC-76)
Rep. Sam Watford (NC-80)
Rep. Jeff Zenger (NC-74)
Past legislators
Former Sen. John Alexander (Wake)
Former Sen. Patrick Ballantine (New Hanover)
Former Sen. Tom Apodaca (Henderson)
Former Rep. Rayne Brown (Davidson)
Former Rep. Holly Grange (New Hanover)
Former Sen. Bob Rucho (Mecklenburg)
Former Sen. Fred Smith (Johnston)
Former Sen. Jeff Tarte (Mecklenburg)
