News outlets are reporting on Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate Cheri Beasley’s “historic election win” on Tuesday night after “dominating” the primary election by winning in all 100 counties and earning more than 80 percent of the vote. Beasley is the first African American woman to be nominated to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina.
News outlets highlight the significance of Beasley’s primary win, calling her a “trailblazer” for Black women in North Carolina, as she is the first Black woman to serve as a North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice and the first Black woman to be elected to a statewide office in North Carolina without first being appointed to the position by a governor.
In addition, news outlets are reporting how competitive North Carolina’s Senate race is, given Cheri’s strong candidacy. The Hill noted that “Democrats see Beasley as perhaps their best hope to win North Carolina” and she can “energize the party’s voters.” The New York Times noted that Beasley has been able to win statewide twice, including in 2014, “a particularly hard year for Democrats,” and outperformed the top of the ticket in 2020.
Indy Week noted Beasley’s keen ability to attract voters in rural areas of the state, and her extensive experience and funding, which could give her an edge against her Republican opponent Ted Budd. Outlets reported on Beasley’s “early engagement with voters,” and “strong statewide relationships.”
As Budd’s campaign enters the general election bruised after a competitive primary, news outlets continue to report on Beasley’s massive fundraising advantage, highlighting how she has “consistently been the largest fundraiser” and is “heading into the general election with a solid cash advantage.”
Read the highlights here:
New York Times: Cheri Beasley, a former North Carolina chief justice, wins her Democratic Senate primary.
By Jazmine Ulloa
Cheri Beasley, a former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, won her state’s Democratic primary for the United States Senate, clearing out competitors in a 10-way race with an emphasis on her judicial credentials and her ability to work with law enforcement and apply the law fairly.
The win puts Ms. Beasley, 56, a former public defender who climbed the judicial ranks and made history as North Carolina’s first Black Supreme Court chief justice, closer to becoming its first Black senator.
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Ms. Beasley intends to charge forward with a strict focus on North Carolina issues and voters, according to her campaign. Her supporters say she has an edge because she has won two statewide elections for judicial positions, including in 2014, a particularly hard year for Democrats in North Carolina and across the country.
Ms. Beasley joined the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice in 2012, and Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, named her chief justice in 2019 when the incumbent retired. She lost her 2020 election for a full term as chief justice by 401 votes out of nearly 5.4 million cast. But she outperformed President Biden in the state.
Much of her support in the Senate race came from rural voters, as well as college-educated white people in the suburbs, according to limited polling. She had the endorsements of Mr. Cooper and key Democratic interest groups, such as the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Planned Parenthood.
In the final stretch of the campaign, Ms. Beasley traveled to some places less often visited by candidates and laid out her thoughts on the leaked Supreme Court draft ruling on abortion.
She has been vocal about racial inequities in the judicial system, having navigated her court through the protests and riots after the murder of George Floyd. But she avoided centering her campaign on her racial identity, preferring to stick to what she called her top three issues: health care, jobs, and crime and safety.
She opened her first television ad with scenes of her driving down the road she used to take to the Fayetteville courthouse to represent clients who could not afford a lawyer. “I’ll be a voice for all of North Carolina,” she said.
The Hill: Beasley wins Democratic nod in North Carolina Senate primary
By Max Greenwood
Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley is projected to coast to victory on Tuesday in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.
Heading into Tuesday, Beasley was seen as the overwhelming favorite to capture her party’s Senate nomination. She faced only nominal competition in the primary after her top opponent, state Sen. Jeff Jackson, suspended his campaign late last year and endorsed Beasley’s bid.
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Beasley’s win sets her up to take on the eventual Republican nominee in a key battleground state that Democrats see as one of a few promising opportunities to flip a GOP-held seat this year.
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Nevertheless, Democrats see Beasley as perhaps their best hope to win North Carolina, believing that she may be able to energize the party’s voters in a year when Democratic enthusiasm is running low. She has also won statewide office twice before – once in 2014 and again in 2020.
Beasley is also heading into the general election with a solid cash advantage over either of her likely Republican rivals. At the end of April, Beasley’s campaign reported having nearly $3.3 million in the bank, compared to about $1.1 million for Budd and $1.4 million for McCrory.
The Grio: US Senate candidates Beasley and Booker make history with primary election wins
By Gerren Keith Gaynor
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Cheri Beasley beat out a crowded Democratic primary in North Carolina to become the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate. If successful in November’s general election, the former chief justice for the North Carolina Supreme Court would become the first Black senator from the Tar Heel State.
Beasley’s election would also fill a current void after Vice President Kamala Harris’ departure left the Senate without a Black woman represented in its body.
In a previous interview with theGrio, Beasley said she believed her candidacy offers “the best opportunity to expand the majority in the Senate.”
“I hope that people – not just in North Carolina, but across this country – really appreciate the magnitude of this election,” said Beasley.
In a statement provided to theGrio, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Gary Peters applauded Beasley’s “groundbreaking candidacy.” Peters said that Beasley would bring “the values of hard work, integrity, and justice” to the Senate.
The DSCC leader added: “While the Republicans in this race have spent their time and dollars tarnishing each other with brutal attacks, Cheri is laser-focused on the issues that matter most to working families in her state – and that’s exactly why voters will elect her in November.”
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N&O: Rep. Ted Budd, former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley win NC’s Senate primaries
By Danielle Battaglia, Lars Dolder, Sara Coello, and Adam Wagner
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Budd will face former N.C. Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in the general election Nov. 8. Beasley, 55, dominated with more than 80% of the votes and won the Democratic nomination for Senate, becoming the first Black woman to do so in North Carolina.
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At the Democrats’ election night party in Raleigh Tuesday night, Beasley said Budd would continue to further his own ambitions and protect special interest groups instead of working for North Carolinians. “We know my opponent and his allies will continue to distort and demean and pour millions of dollars into disgraceful attacks intended to trick voters rather than fighting for the people or working to make our lives better,” Beasley said.
Beasley also focused on the things she wants to do, like lowering prescription drug costs, continuing the growth of renewable energy and supporting smaller businesses.
“If you don’t have affordable health care, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican. If you don’t have schools that will educate your children, that have the resources they need to do so or have access to the ballot box, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican,” Beasley said.
Beasley is a trailblazer for Black women in North Carolina.
She’s the first Black woman to serve as N.C. Supreme Court chief justice and the first Black woman to be elected to a statewide office in North Carolina without first being appointed to the position by a governor. She’s been a public defender, a District Court judge, a Superior Court judge and served on the N.C. Court of Appeals.
In 2020, Beasley lost her reelection bid to N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby by just 401 votes.
The 19th: Cheri Beasley won North Carolina’s Senate primary. Like other Black women, she laid the groundwork years ago.
By Candice Norwood
Tuesday’s primary in North Carolina was the latest test for a slate of Black women running for Senate in this cycle’s midterm elections, with Democrat Cheri Beasley emerging as the nominee among a crowded field that includes six Black women — more than any other state. A seventh Black woman will also be running as an independent in the general election.
Beasley, the former chief justice for the North Carolina state Supreme Court, is running to replace Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who decided not to seek reelection.
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Beasley, 56, has emerged as one of the most talked about Black women candidates for Senate. Early on in her career, Beasley worked as an assistant public defender in Cumberland County, North Carolina. In 1999, she was appointed to be a state district court judge, a seat she maintained through two judicial election cycles.
In 2008, Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, making her the state’s first Black woman to win a statewide seat without first being appointed by a governor. She was appointed to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2012 and appointed to be chief justice of the court in 2019, the first Black woman to hold that position. The following year, Beasley lost her election bid for a full-term role as chief justice by 401 votes.
Her previous electoral success as a judge – particularly winning the state appellate court seat – gave her an edge coming into the Democratic primary. She became the party’s presumptive nominee when her two leading competitors ended their campaigns, reinforcing the strength of her campaign.
“There does become somewhat of a checklist that kind of helps to determine how successful a person may be,” said Stefanie Brown James, co-founder and senior adviser for the Collective PAC, which works to increase Black political representation and has endorsed Beasley. “In Cheri’s case, she’s one of the rare people who has run and won statewide elections. That helps you to see that she has the experience.”
That experience includes years of building name recognition and relationships with voters, donors and people in positions of power, which are particularly important for statewide races, said Aisha Dew, the political director for the Higher Heights for America PAC, a group focused Black women political candidates that has also endorsed Beasley.
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Beasley has proved to be the best fundraiser from either party so far in the race. As of the end of April, she had raised about $9.5 million and had $3.2 million on hand; no other Democratic candidates came close.
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On the trail, Beasley centers issues that appeal to a broad segment of voters, including health care and economic opportunities. A May survey from Meredith College found that 70 percent of people in North Carolina believe the state should join the 38 others that have expanded Medicaid. More recently, Beasley has criticized the Senate for not codifying the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade as the country awaits a consequential Supreme Court decision on its future.
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Spectrum News: Budd wins GOP Senate primary, will face Beasley in November
By Charles Duncan
Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley has been the presumptive Democratic nominee for months. She won almost 81% of the early vote as of 11 p.m.
“North Carolina, I am honored to be your nominee. And I’m honored to stand with all of you, and on the shoulders of the many trailblazers who came before, to be the first African American woman to be your Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate,” she said Tuesday night, accepting the nomination.
“As your Senator, I will fight to lower costs – from prices at the pump to prescription drugs. I will work to expand the Affordable Care Act and Medicare to ensure that people in every part of North Carolina have access to the care they need,” Beasley said.
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Beasley has been campaigning for the General Election since North Carolina Democrats rallied behind her candidacy. That’s given her a head start in what’s sure to be a tough campaign ahead of the General Election in November.
“Club for Growth PAC is proud to have played a role in helping Rep. Ted Budd secure the nomination,” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh said in a statement. Club for Growth is a conservative super PAC and has been a big donor to Budd’s campaign.
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“As North Carolina’s next U.S. Senator, Cheri will be an independent and fierce advocate for North Carolina and continue her work to provide opportunity for families across the state, a stark contrast to the misguided priorities of whichever damaged Republican nominee emerges from their divisive primary,” Richardson said.
Indy Week: Beasley, Budd Win US Senate Primaries, Foushee Wins NC-04, Nickel, Hines Win NC-13
By Lena Geller
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As predicted, Cheri Beasley has won the Democratic primary for US Senate, crushing her ten opponents with 81 percent of the vote.
Beasley, a former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, will face off against Republican nominee Ted Budd in the general election to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Burr.
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That said, Beasley has shown that she can attract voters in rural areas of the state, and has plenty of experience and funding to pour into the effort. If she wins the general election, Beasley will become North Carolina’s first Black senator.
“We can build a better future for our state and our families,” Beasley said in her acceptance speech. “But it’s going to take all of us working together: knocking doors, calling our neighbors, calling voters. It is all hands on deck.”
USA Today: Trump’s Budd takes Republican Senate nomination in NC, while Democrat Beasley wins easily
By Paul Woolverton
Donald Trump-endorsed U.S Rep. Ted Budd of Davie County won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina while former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley won the Democratic nomination, The Associated Press declared less than an hour after the polls closed on Tuesday evening.
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Democrat Beasley was a District Court judge in Fayetteville and later ascended through the appellate courts to chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. But then she lost the 2020 election to Republican Paul Newby by just 401 votes out of 5.39 million cast.
“North Carolina, I am honored to be your nominee,” Beasley said in her prepared remarks after the Associated Press declared her the winner of her primary. “And I’m honored to stand with all of you, and on the shoulders of the many trailblazers who came before, to be the first African American woman to be your Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
Beasley’s campaign issued a memo Tuesday evening that asserts she is well-positioned to win in November due to her strong fund-raising, with $9.6 million taken in, plus her early engagement with voters. She cites a recent poll that her campaign released that says she is tied with Budd.
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Original source can be found here.
