Tiffany Muller
07/15/22
(Indy Week) – The more we learn about Congressman Ted Budd, the more clear it becomes that he is a corrupt politician who plays by his own rules to help himself and his wealthy donors—at the expense of North Carolina families.
North Carolinians who turned on the TV over the spring saw first hand how cozy Ted Budd is with his special interest allies. His dark money allies like Club for Growth dragged him across the finish line of the nasty GOP Senate primary with over $14 million in ads.
Now, new reporting reveals that Budd “took advantage of his position” in Congress and is even more personally indebted to corporate special interests than we thought. Last week, North Carolinians learned that in Congress, Budd took a series of trips worth over $30,000 to destinations like Miami, Palm Beach, and Oslo, Norway—all funded by corporate special interests. He stayed at luxury resorts where rooms cost minimum $900 per night, while taking thousands of campaign dollars from corporate special interests and voting to pad their bottom lines in Washington.
Election experts called it the epitome of the DC “swamp” and agreed voters should be concerned about where their politicians like Budd’s loyalties lie.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, his record is again under scrutiny for siding with Big Pharma over the people of North Carolina. He’s voted to keep prescription drug costs high while taking cash from Big Pharma. Just days after voting against a bill that would lower the cost of prescription drugs like insulin that many North Carolinians rely on, he pocketed thousands of dollars in campaign cash from corporate pharma PACs as a reward for toeing the industry line.
It’s abundantly clear where he stands as he now seeks an undeserved promotion to the U.S. Senate.
Throughout his time in Congress, he has put the interests of the wealthy donors and dark money groups funding his campaign ahead of delivering results to North Carolina families. That is just the start of the long list of his misguided priorities, but chief among them is his loyalty to corporate special interests over North Carolina. It’s the worst of politics – seeking power at all costs, rigging the rules in your favor, and abandoning the people who sent you there to work for them.
We need a leader in the U.S. Senate who will fight for North Carolina’s best interests, stand up to corruption, and be an independent voice for real change. Cheri Beasley isn’t taking a dime from corporate PACs and in Washington, we can trust her to put the people first.
There couldn’t be a starker contrast between former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley who leads with the values of integrity, honesty and justice and the corrupt Congressman Ted Budd who wants power at all costs and plays by his own rules to help himself.
Instead of doing his job to serve the people of North Carolina, he has spent his time in Congress brushing shoulders with billionaires at posh, beachfront resorts and flying back on their dime to vote the way they want him to—not his constituents.
In November, we have the opportunity to send Congressman Budd on another trip—a one-way ticket back home for good.
Tiffany Muller is the President of End Citizens United.