What Cal Cunningham’s Democratic primary opponent says about his scandal
U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham’s opponent in the primary election last March has a message to Democrats in the wake of Cunningham admitting to sexual text messages with a woman who is not his wife.
Cunningham defeated state Sen. Erica Smith in North Carolina’s Democratic primary.
Smith told The News & Observer on Monday that she is still supporting Cunningham in the general election after Cunningham admitted to exchanging the texts.
“I ask our supporters to unite around our platform and stand with Cal for NC,” Smith said.
“Cunningham had a critical lapse in judgment and morality. My prayers go out to his family as they work through healing,” she told The N&O.
Cunningham is facing incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in the Nov. 3 general election. He has been leading in polls for several months before the text messages with Arlene Guzman Todd, a California public relations strategist, became public.
Cunningham defeated Smith 56.9% to 34.8% in the Democratic primary. Cunningham far outraised Smith and had the backing of national Democratic groups, which Smith complained about during the primary.
Smith has previously called out behavior among her Democratic colleagues in the General Assembly. Earlier this year, Smith filed ethics complaints against several fellow senators — mostly Democrats — related to allegations of harassment and bullying, The News & Observer previously reported.
The Legislative Ethics Committee dismissed all the complaints, which included a General Assembly police report about a confrontation between Smith and fellow Sen. Paul Lowe.
Because Smith ran in the U.S. Senate primary, she is not running for re-election to her state Senate seat.
Smith has announced she’s running for the Democratic nomination in 2022 for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. Richard Burr. Burr has said several times that he will not for re-election in 2022.
Cunningham withdrew from a planned virtual town hall on Monday afternoon at UNC-Chapel Hill. But he made clear that he plans to remain in the race, and no prominent Democrat has called for him to exit.
“He’s unable to attend today but looks forward to continuing to work to earn the opportunity to fight for North Carolinians,” said Cunningham communications director Rachel Petri in a statement Monday.
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He has yet to address the scandal publicly outside of a two-paragraph statement Friday night.
“I have hurt my family, disappointed my friends, and am deeply sorry. The first step in repairing those relationships is taking complete responsibility, which I do. I ask that my family’s privacy be respected in this personal matter,” he said.
The Senate race in North Carolina is one of the most-watched races in the country and could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate. Millions of dollars have poured into the race. Cunningham announced a record-setting fundraising total of $28.3 million for the past three months on Thursday.
More than 359,000 North Carolina voters have cast their ballot already. Early in-person voting begins Oct. 15 in North Carolina. Election Day is Nov. 3.
A new poll released Monday shows Cunningham leading 48-42. The poll is from PPP, whose CEO is a Cunningham donor. The poll shows that 58% of those surveyed, including 69% of independent voters, had heard about the Cunningham story over the weekend.
“I was saying that something big would have to change for Cunningham to not be the favorite and clearly the question is: Is this that thing?” Chris Cooper, the head of the political science department at Western Carolina University, said Sunday.
Tillis announced Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, one of several high-profile Republican elected officials, including President Donald Trump, to contract the virus in recent days. Tillis’ Senate office said Monday afternoon that “Tillis feels great and has regained his sense of taste and smell. He is no longer exhibiting any symptoms.”
McClatchy reporter Brian Murphy and Charlotte Observer reporter Jim Morrill contributed to this story.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 3:22 PM.
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