‘Love or hate.’ In Charlotte, Sen. Cory Booker frames NC’s US Senate race in stark terms
In a roaring speech in Charlotte Saturday, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey framed the North Carolina U.S. Senate race as a choice between “democracy or totalitarianism” or “love or hate.”
Booker, in an endorsement of Democrat Cheri Beasley, painted the election as a pivotal moment in American politics.
“Will you stand with me for Cheri Beasley? Will you stand with me for America?” Booker said to a standing ovation at Harding University High School. “If we do it here, the whole nation will stand up and recognize that love still lives, that democracy still matters.”
Beasley is running against Republican Rep. Ted Budd, whose campaign has focused largely on inflation and has attempted to tie Beasley to President Joe Biden. Biden’s approval rating has remained below 50% since August 2021, according to a compilation of polling data from FiveThirtyEight.
‘ProtectRoe’
Beasley danced onto the stage to Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” wearing a golden-color necklace that read “ProtectRoe.”
With 24 days until election day, Beasley asked the crowd to help drive turnout. Her speech focused on issues including abortion, lowering the cost of medication and passing a federal $15-an-hour minimum wage.
“They don’t send folks like Sen. Cory Booker to North Carolina unless they really know we can win this race,” Beasley said. “The tide is turning, folks are excited, people really do feel a sense of urgency.”
Booker ended his speech by talking about the assault on the U.S. Capitol ahead of Biden’s inauguration. He condemned Republicans, including Budd, who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
“It is about love or hate, unity or division,” Booker said of the Budd-Beasley Senate race.
Jonathan Felts, Budd’s senior advisor, said in an emailed statement to The Charlotte Observer he’s confident “Democracy will hand Beasley yet another statewide loss.”
Beasley lost in the 2020 general election for North Carolina Supreme Court to Paul Martin Newby, a Republican, by 401 votes.
“Is it really news that someone from New Jersey would come to NC and insult the intelligence of North Carolinians?” Felts said in the statement. “Democracy is gonna be just fine and that’s bad news for Cheri Beasley because the majority of folks in NC care a whole lot more about how bad inflation is instead of anything Sen. Booker has to say.”
Beasley has fundraising edge
The rally came just a day after both the Beasley and Budd campaigns released their fundraising numbers for the third quarter of 2022.
The Beasley campaign nearly tripled Budd’s — $13.3 million to Budd’s $4.7 million. Budd had $2.9 million cash-on-hand heading into the fourth quarter. Beasley had $3.3 million in cash on hand.
More than 90% of Beasley’s donations were $100 or less, according to her campaign.
Budd’s campaign, in a news release, pointed out that Democrats have outraised Republicans in other U.S. Senate races in North Carolina, but still lost.
In the third quarter of 2020, Democrat Cal Cunningham outraised Sen. Thom Tillis by about $24 million. Tillis won the election by about 95,000 votes, or 1.8% of the vote.
“Now that you’ve got the proper historical context, and since the Beasley campaign only outraised us by $9 million or so, I think we can all agree it’s pretty clear she’s on a glide path to defeat,” Felts said in the news release.
This story was originally published October 15, 2022 at 6:05 PM with the headline "‘Love or hate.’ In Charlotte, Sen. Cory Booker frames NC’s US Senate race in stark terms."
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