Cunningham won’t talk personal scandal, keeps his focus on health care in Senate race
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham kept his focus on health care in the final days of his pivotal North Carolina race, even as Republicans demand that he address his personal misconduct after a new report alleges more infidelity.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis released a new statewide television ad highlighting veterans saying they cannot trust Cunningham — himself a veteran who served overseas — after reports of an affair with the wife of another veteran.
And the chairman of the NC GOP said the new allegation, “in particular, disqualifies him from serving” in the Senate.
But Cunningham, who appeared with several other Democratic candidates Monday in a virtual event on health care, has not addressed the latest report and stuck with his plan to keep the focus away from himself and on health care.
“While it may be the name Cal Cunningham on the ballot,” he said, “... really, it’s your health care. That’s what’s on the ballot.”
The lines are clearly drawn in the final 15 days of the Senate race, the most expensive in U.S. history. More than 1.6 million North Carolinians have already cast their ballot, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Cunningham, who said 10 days ago that he had said all he was going to say about the personal scandal, won’t address it further. The Tillis campaign and its Republican allies are going to try to make that politically untenable.
“The real Cal Cunningham is a hypocrite who disgraced his family, the Army and the people of North Carolina,” Tillis campaign spokesman Luke Blanchat said in a statement.
A new allegation
The new pressure comes after a Saturday report by The National File, a conservative website, named a Raleigh woman as having also had an affair with Cunningham, citing anonymous sources and social media posts.
The National File was the first to report on sexual text messages between Cunningham and a California woman, messages the Cunningham campaign later confirmed to The News & Observer. That woman told The Associated Press that she and Cunningham had an intimate encounter this summer in Raleigh.
Cunningham has not denied Arlene Guzman Todd’s account. He has apologized for causing hurt to his family.
The News & Observer has not confirmed a relationship between Cunningham and the Raleigh woman and is not naming her. A reporter went to her home and was told she was not there by her husband, who asked the reporter to leave. The woman has not responded to several phone calls, text messages and emails from the N&O over the past three days.
A reporter also went to the home of a woman whose Facebook comment first raised the possibility of another affair, but no one answered the door.
Cunningham and his campaign have declined to comment on the second report.
In a press event on Oct. 7, Cunningham was asked four times if there were other women that had yet to come forward. Cunningham declined to answer.
“I’ve taken responsibility for the hurt I’ve caused in my personal life. I’ve apologized for it. I’ve said what I’m going to say about it,” Cunningham said at the time.
Cunningham, 47, has been married for 20 years and has two teenage children.
Those press questions — the last time Cunningham took questions from the media — came after he discussed health care and Tillis’ record during a virtual call.
Monday’s call was held by Protect Our Care, a group that is fighting against Republican efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court will hear arguments about the law in November, a week after the election.
The race could determine which party holds control of the tightly contested U.S. Senate.
“If you care about your health care, if you care about health, if you care about getting past this coronavirus pandemic, send Cal Cunningham to the United States Senate, so he will be there in a Senate majority to fix whatever disaster the Supreme Court may give us,” said Brad Woodhouse, the group’s executive director.
No press questions were taken on the hour-long call, which featured several health care activists and Democratic candidates including North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield and Pat Timmons-Goodson, who is running in the 8th Congressional District.
Cunningham did not attend Sunday’s event in Durham with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. He was not scheduled to be there, his campaign said.
But Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper made mention of Cunningham in brief remarks at the airport with Biden that were picked up by WRAL.
“I wanted to show my strong support for you,” Cooper told Biden in the exchange. “I think we’re gonna all get across the line. I think Cal is going to get across the line, too. I know that was frustrating. We’ll get it across.”
Both Biden and Cooper, who is running for reelection, hold leads in North Carolina polling.
Cunningham has continued to lead in public polls taken after the text messages and first affair allegation became public, but his favorability numbers have declined.
Cunningham, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, is facing an investigation by the Army Reserve Command.
“Cal Cunningham’s continued silence on his misconduct, and on the latest National File story in particular, disqualifies him from serving our great state. If Cunningham lies, cheats, and betrays his own family, he will lie, cheat, and betray North Carolinians in Washington,” NC GOP chairman Michael Whatley said.
“It’s time for Cunningham to either start providing North Carolinians with straight answers on his extramarital affairs or suspend his campaign.”
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 19, 2020 at 5:00 PM.
