Ted Budd | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator-elect from North Carolina | |
| Assuming office January 3, 2023 | |
| Succeeding | Richard Burr |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 13th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | George Holding |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Theodore Paul Budd October 21, 1971 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Amy Kate Adams (m. 1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Appalachian State University (BSBA) Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM) Wake Forest University (MBA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Theodore Paul Budd (born October 21, 1971) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district covers the north-central part of the state.
Budd was the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina to replace retiring Republican senator Richard Burr. He won the election against Democrat Cheri Beasley in 2022 and is set to take office in January 3, 2023.
Budd was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1971.[1] When he was young, his family moved to a 300-acre (120 ha) farm on the Yadkin River in Davie County outside Advance, where they raise cattle and chickens.[2][3][4][5][6] His father owned a facility-services company.[4]
Budd attended Summit School, a private school in Winston-Salem, before attending Davie County High School, graduating in 1990.[7][8] He then went to Appalachian State University, where received a bachelor of science in business administration in 1994.[9][3] Budd later received a master of theology from the Dallas Theological Seminary in 1998 and a master of business administration from the Wake Forest University School of Business in 2007.[3][4][10]
Budd owns a gun store in Rural Hall, North Carolina.[3][4] The father of homeschooled children, Budd also served as a board member for North Carolinians for Home Education.[11]
Following court-mandated redistricting, the old 13th district essentially merged with the 2nd district. A new 13th district was created, stretching from the northern suburbs of Charlotte to Greensboro. The old 13th district's incumbent, Republican George Holding, opted to run in the 2nd district. Budd ran as one of 17 candidates in the ensuing Republican primary for the 13th district in the 2016 elections.[12] His home had previously been in the 5th district but had been drawn into the 13th district.
With the help of the Club for Growth, which spent over $285,000 on his campaign,[5] Budd won the primary with 20% of the vote.[13][14] He defeated Bruce Davis, a former Guilford County commissioner, in the general election with 56.1% of the vote.[15][16] He was sworn into office on January 3, 2017.[17]
Budd has since been re-elected in 2018 and 2020, winning 51.5% and 68.2% of the vote, respectively.[18][19] His opponent in 2018 was attorney Kathy Manning, who was elected to represent the neighboring 6th district in 2020.[20]
In late February 2021, Budd and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote in their place, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their slated absences.[21] In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Budd and the other lawmakers.[22]
Budd is a member of the Freedom Caucus.[23]
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Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina |
On April 23, 2021, Budd went to Mar-a-Lago to discuss his prospective U.S. Senate candidacy with former U.S. President Donald Trump.[27] On April 28, 2021, Budd announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by the retiring Richard Burr.[28] At the Republican state convention in Greenville on June 5, Budd received the endorsements of Donald Trump and Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who had declined to run for the seat.[29][30] Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he would remain in the race despite Trump's endorsement. A third declared candidate, U.S. Representative Mark Walker, said he too would stay in the race, maintaining that he had won a straw poll of those attending the convention.[31][32][33][34]
Budd won the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.[35] On November 8, 2022, Budd defeated Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley in the general election.
After Senator Lindsey Graham introduced legislation that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy,[36] Budd co-sponsored a House version of the bill with over 80 Republicans.[37]
Budd opposes the Affordable Care Act and voted to repeal it in 2017.[38]
In December 2020, Budd was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed by long-indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the United States Supreme Court.[39][40] It contested the results of the 2020 presidential election, in four states, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where Joe Biden defeated[41] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by other states.[42][43][44]
On January 6, 2021, Budd was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing an emergency recess of Congress.[45] Budd contended that officials in Pennsylvania had acted "illegally" and "violated" both the United States Constitution and that of their own state.[27] He said, "I cannot consent to accepting Pennsylvania's electoral votes."[27]
Budd opposes the For the People Act, a Democratic bill intended to expand voting rights. Budd said that the bill undermines election integrity by expanding "no excuse" absentee voting and weakening voter ID requirements. He said that the bill would allow minors to vote. PolitiFact ruled this claim false, as the bill would only allow those under 18 to register to vote. Amendments to the bill that would lower the voting age to 16 failed in both 2019 and 2021.[46]
In 2020, Budd voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan without congressional approval.[47]
In 2021, Budd was one of 14 Republican representatives to vote against a measure condemning the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.[48]
In 2022, Budd was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[49][50]
Budd met his wife, Amy Kate Adams, on a mission to the Soviet Union in 1991.[4] They married in 1994 and have three children together.[51]
The Budds live in Davie County on the farm where Budd was raised.[4] Budd homeschools his children and serves as an assistant scoutmaster in his son's Boy Scout troop.[52]
The Budds, led by his father, Richard Budd, loaned $10 million to AgriBioTech, which was repaid with over $25,000 in interest. The company later declared bankruptcy.[30]
