Not surprised at all:
Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina is a steadfast supporter of firearms and the Second Amendment, as are many of his Republican colleagues.
But as lawmakers debate restrictions on guns in the aftermath of an elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, Budd is one of just two members of Congress who actually owns a firearm store, the second being Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
Budd is the owner of ProShots, a gun store and shooting range in Rural Hall, North Carolina.
The store sells a multitude of handguns and rifles and offers gunsmith services to help "inspect, upgrade, and maintain" firearms. It also advertises a wide range of firearms education programs, including concealed carry classes, AR-15 semi-automatic rifle classes, and by-appointment training sessions for "Church & Workplace Emergency Preparedness Response."
Budd's stake in the company is worth anywhere between $1 million and $5 million, and he brought in up to $1 million in income during 2020 alone, according to his most recent annual financial disclosure filed with the US House of Representatives.
Here’s the latest on the race:
Republican Ted Budd is leading democrat Cheri Beasley by less than two percentage points. The Civitas Poll conducted in partnership with the conservative John Locke Foundation is the first poll conducted after the May 17th primary.
The current congressman and the former State Supreme Court Chief Justice are competing to fill the seat currently held by Republican Richard Burr, who is retiring.
Among those polled, 43.6 percent said they would vote for Rep. Budd while 41.8 percent said they would vote for Cheri Beasley.
The 1.8 percent difference leaves them within the +/- 3.9% margin of error. 1.9 percent of those polled said they would vote for Libertarian Shannon Bray and 0.7 percent said they would vote for Green Party candidate Matthew Hoh.
Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University said, “We knew this was going to be a tight race, we knew this was going to be watched across the country but I mean this really puts it neck-and-neck, within the margin of error. Anybody’s ballgame.”
Health and Democracy are on the ballot and we need to get ready to flip North Carolina Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Beasley and her fellow North Carolina Democrats campaigns:
Cheri Beasley
North Carolina Democratic Party