The candidate who was once leading the GOP congressional primary race in North Carolina has decided to end her campaign. She pointed to the fact that her opponent received an endorsement from former President Trump as the reason for her decision.
Kelly Daughtry announced the end of her campaign for the Congressional seat in District 13, acknowledging the endorsement of Brad Knott by President Trump. In a statement, she expressed her belief in the democratic process and her respect for the President’s endorsement.
“The moment has arrived for me to halt my campaign. While I may no longer be vying for candidacy, I remain committed to advocating for the causes I hold dear. Moving forward, my efforts will be dedicated to bolstering conservative voter registration initiatives and providing support to conservative judicial candidates, who have been nominated and are competing in the November elections,” she affirmed.
In the primary election held on March 5th for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, Daughtry emerged as the frontrunner with 27.4 percent of the vote, closely followed by Brad Knott with 18.7 percent, as reported by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s election results tracker.
Neither candidate was able to meet the required threshold of more than 30 percent to secure the nomination, thus resulting in the race heading to a runoff. The second primary is scheduled for May 14, and early voting has already commenced at select locations within the district.
Daughtry threw his support behind Knott’s campaign for the seat and urged the Republican Party to rally behind him. Knott received an early endorsement from Trump just last month.
Brad Knott has been declared as the Republican nominee on May 14th. In a statement, Daughtry expressed her congratulations to him and wished him success. She also emphasized her full endorsement of Knott and assured him of her support, stating that she is not here to oppose him but to stand by his side. Daughtry believes that it is crucial for the Republican Party to unite, and she has requested her supporters to formally back Brad’s campaign.
“I have also had a conversation with Brad and I am confident that he will strongly support and fight for the entire District. We are all working together as a team, and I believe that suspending my campaign at this point will demonstrate and encourage our unity as a party,” she expressed.
The 13th District is presently being represented by first-term Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), who has chosen not to run for re-election due to the district’s ideological shift towards the right during the state’s congressional redistricting process. In the upcoming general election in November, Democrat Frank Pierce will go up against the Republican nominee.
Daughtry expressed gratitude to those who had voted for him, acknowledging their belief in him and their honorable act of casting their votes. He emphasized the need for Republicans to come together and join forces to secure victory in the upcoming elections, reaffirming his commitment to work alongside them in achieving this goal.
