Senate Candidate Cheri Beasley 

(D-North Carolina)

Beasley is seeking election for a first term

Beasley’s Membership in Under-Represented Communities: Black, Woman

Cheri Beasley is a mom, former public defender, judge, and the first Black woman to serve as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She’s spent her life fighting to uphold the law and keep communities safe – and as U.S. Senator, she’ll fight to lower costs, create good-paying jobs and expand access to affordable, quality health care in every part of North Carolina.

Before serving on the North Carolina Supreme Court, Beasley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Rutgers University in 1988 before receiving her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following her studies, Beasley was the assistant public defender for the 12th Judicial District from 1994 to 1999. She was then appointed by Governor Jim Hunt (D) as a judge for the North Carolina 12th Judicial District in 1999. In order to serve another term, Beasley ran and won election to the 12th Judicial District. She was re-elected without opposition in 2006, and severed the 12th district until 2008. In 2008, Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, defeating incumbent Douglas McCullough (R) by a 15 point margin.When Beasley was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2008, she became the first Black woman to be elected to any statewide office in North Carolina without being first appointed by a governor. She served the Court of Appeals until 2012.

Beasley is known most for her time as a judge on the North Carolina Supreme Court. In 2012 Beasley was appointed the North Carolina Supreme Court as an associate justice by Governor Bev Perdue (D) following the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson.There are seven justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court, and justices are selected in partisan elections. The term for a supreme court justice in North Carolina is eight years, and one must face reelection if one wishes to serve subsequent terms. Midterm vacancies are filled by appointment. In 2014, Beasley was elected to her first full term by defeating Forsyth County lawyer Mike Robinson (R) by 5,000 votes. On February 12, 2019, Governor Roy Cooper (D) appointed Beasley to the office of Chief Justice to succeed Mark Martin (R). Beasley assumed the position on March 1,2019. In 2020, Beasley decided to run for her first full term on the Democratic ticket for the 2020 general election for North Carolina Supreme Court against Paul Martin Newby (R). She lost the race by 401 votes and finished the race in a statistical tie. Even though her position as chief justice was short-lived, Beasley will always be a part of North Carolina’s history. 

Beasley is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent North Carolina. The North Carolina primary was held on June 8, 2022. Beasley easily secured the Democratic nomination with 81.1% of the vote (501,618 votes) against nine other candidates. Likewise, House Representative Ted Budd (R-NC-13) won the Republican nomination for Senate with 58.6% of the vote (448,035 votes)against over 10 other candidates. The general election is set for November 8, 2022. 

Polling:

Polling has consistently shown a very competitive race, and recently Beasley has gained momentum. Most polling now shows a tied race and, in some cases, Beasley is leading her opponent.

An Eastern Carolina University poll conducted between October 10 through the 13, found Representative Ted Budd (R) leading Beasley 50-44. This is the first poll that Budd has cracked over 50%. In another poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group released on October 20, Budd (R) led Beasley 48-44.

An Emerson College poll released in September found Republican Rep. Ted Budd ahead of Cheri Beasley (D) 46-43; 9% of voters remain undecided. Since the last Emerson poll of North Carolina voters back in May, Budd’s support decreased by two points, 48% to 46%, while Beasley’s support has increased two points, 41% to 43%.

A Meredith College poll released and conducted in early September found Beasley (D) and Ted Budd (R) in a statistical dead heat, 41-41.

A poll released on August 31 by Public Policy Polling, which found Beasley leading Republican nominee Budd 42-41. This same poll surveyed the candidates’ favorability amongst voters; 40% of voters found Beasley favorable, while 30% found her unfavorable, and 30% were not sure. 

Meanwhile, 34% of voters found former Representative Budd (R) favorable, and 40% of voters found him unfavorably.  

Another poll from August conducted by GOP firm Cygnal,  found that Beasley and Budd were in a tie, with each candidate capturing 42% of the vote, while 12.6% of voters were undecided. This is a strong improvement for Beasley, who in a June 23 Cygnal poll was trialing Budd by 5 points.

The conservative organization, the John Locke Foundation, released a poll in August conducted by Civitas in mid-August. It showed Beasley and Budd both securing 42.3% of the vote in another statistical tie with 12.6% of voters undecided. It also showed that 2.7% of voters planned on supporting Libertarian and Green Party candidates. 

The same poll also surveyed North Carolina voters on policy issues, including voters’ stance on abortion. 48% of North Carolinians self-identified as pro-choice, and 39% self-identified as anti-choice. When it comes to North Carolina law,the state is divided on reinstating the 1973 abortion law, which would ban abortion after 20 weeks. With Roe in place, the state law could not be enforced since the precedent permitted abortion into 24 weeks. 44% of participants approved of reinstating the 20-week abortion ban, while 42.6% disapproved – a difference within the poll’s 3.9% margin of error. Following the release of this poll, a federal judge ruled that North Carolina’s general ban on abortions after 20 weeks is no longer unconstitutional, and a ban can be enforced, which would disproportionately affect lower income individuals, as well as individuals with late-term health complications. In 2020, just over 30,000 abortions were performed in North Carolina. More than 5,000 of those were performed on people traveling from outside the state. Only 30 abortions were performed at 21 or more weeks of pregnancy in North Carolina.

Beasley’s Campaign Plan:

In a few short months, Beasley has reinvigorated Democrats’ hopes for making the 2020 North Carolina Senate competitive, as she has pushed the race closer and closer to toss-up territory. Beasley has served the state of North Carolina for over two decades and has won two statewide elections: first in 2008 and then again in 2014, a notoriously tough year when Democrats lost seats in North Carolina and across the country. Although Beasley lost her re-election bid to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2020 by 401votes, she outperformed Biden by 11,000 votes. Beasley also outperformed the 2020 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, Cal Cunnigham, by 125,000 votes. Importantly, while the top of the Democratic ticket did well in urban centers,Beasley performed well all across the state.

Beasley also acknowledges that she will need a wide net of support needed to win a general election in North Carolina. She plans to leverage the relationships she had from her successful elections and historically close race in 2020. She also plans to continue to run down the margins in rural districts and grow margins in urban centers, as well as work not only to turn out but also to persuade Black, Hispanic and other voters of color to mobilize. Since Beasley had a strong position throughout the primary, she focused her sights on the general and was able to introduce herself and her campaign early to the entire voter population. 

It should be noted that North Carolina does have a sizable unaffiliated voter bloc, and the key for Beasley is to win over those voters, particularly in suburban Charlotte and Raleigh, while also picking off moderate Republicans who Budd turns off — and who may feel different following the Dobbs decision. 

Beasley is also benefiting from running against former House representative Ted Budd (NC-R-13), who has distanced himself from moderate Republicans. In the 17-person primary, Budd branded himself as the Trump-endorsed republican of the race. In 2021, Budd voted against certifying Biden’s Election and even called insurrectionists ”just patriots standing up.” He was also backed by the Club for Growth’s super PAC, which spent more than any other group on either side of the aisle in this primary, dropping just under $12 million in ads to attack the other Republican frontrunners, former Governor Pat McCrory (R) and former Representative Mark Walker (R-NC-6). McCrory, who entered the North Carolina race with establishment support, is believed to have been the strongest candidate in general. 

Beasley so far has been an impressive fundraiser, which has allowed her to spend almost $10.3 million on TV ads so far as reported by AdImpact. That’s compared to just $2.1 million from Budd, as well as the $6 million the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has already spent attacking Beasley’s judicial record. In early June, several TV stations in Raleigh and Charlotte pulled an ad by the NRSC after they were informed it had a false statement and language about North Carolina Democratic candidate Cheri Beasley and her record as a former state Supreme Court chief justice. The ad, titled “Failed Our Children,” attempted to distort Beasley’s judicial record by tying Beasley to three child predators who were released or had their indictments tossed. By attempting to air an ad filled with misinformation directly after the primary, the NRSC and Republicans are forecasting the lengths they will go for this race. 

According to AdImpact, the North Carolina Senate race is the sixth most expensive Senate general to date with; the Senate Majority PAC has spent $2.9 million so far on this race. In September, EMILY’s List’s Women Vote Independent Expenditure arm placed a $2.7 million ad reservation in support of Beasley. The ad highlights Republican opponent Ted Budd’s anti-abortion stances. It’s the group’s first expenditure in the race.

In September, Beasley (D) launched a pointed attack against Budd  “for his alleged role in the bankruptcy of his family’s agriculture business.” Following this, the Senate Majority PAC, the top super PAC for Senate Democrats, launched a $2 million new TV ad buy in late September, hitting GOP Representative Tedd Budd’s family seed company, which went bankrupt.  The PAC has booked ads for the first two weeks of October and will greatly benefit Beasley’s campaign in the final weeks before the election.

Meanwhile, since Budd (R) had to spend a significant amount of money in order to secure the Republican nomination, he has only spent $1.2 million in general. The NRSC has spent $5.2 million, and the Senate Leadership Fund has spent $27.7 million for upcoming fall ad reservations.

The Fundraising Fight: 

The Republican primary was quite a competitive and expensive race, giving Beasley an opportunity to save more of her campaign money for the general. Beasley raised $6.3 million in the second quarter of 2022, including $3.2 million in small-dollar donations. Meanwhile, Budd raised $1.8 million in the second quarter and has $4.8 million in cash on hand. Beasley ended the quarter with $4.8 million. So far, Beasley, this cycle has raised $16 million, and Budd has raised $6 million. 

The Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced it is reserving an additional $4 million in TV ads in the race, with ads launching on October 15.That brings the group’s investment in boosting Democrat Cheri Beasley to $10.5 million. While the Senate Majority PAC has spent more than $6.5 million so far this cycle on those ads, the Democratic Senate campaign arm has yet to spend in the state on television ads as of early October. EMILY’s List is spending $2.7 million on the race as well. Schumer also transferred $1 million to Beasley’s Victory Fund Committee, and the DSCC has funded voter registration efforts in the state. Additionally, a Democratic campaign aide reported to Politico that in September, there’s been approximate parity with Republicans in terms of ad reach, despite the overall spending differences.

The Beasley campaign anticipates spending approximately $50 million in the general election. Beasley is also focused on building a strong, state-wide campaign that can reach voters in every corner of North Carolina. By working with local community and grassroots groups, which will include faith groups, issue advocacy groups, labor unions and groups representative of constituencies throughout North Carolina. These partnerships, including early endorsements by the NC State AFL-CIO,Communications Workers for America, North Carolina Association of Educators/NEA, Congressional Black Caucus PAC, EMILY’s List, Higher Heights for America PAC, IVYPAC, Electing Black Women PAC, End Citizens United, Brady PAC, J Street, League of Conservation Voters, NARAL, NRDC.

The Cook Political Report rates the North Carolina race as Lean Republican. Following Sen. Richard Burr’s retirement announcement, both Democrats and Republicans jumped at the opportunity to fill this open seat. While Republicans initially thought this would be a guaranteed win, the May Republican primary was expensive for many Republican groups who jockeyed their support around 17 different candidates. After the Republican Senate primary, former House representative Ted Budd (R) won the Republican nomination  

North Carolina has a rich Democratic and Republican history. In1972, Jesse Helms was the first Republican in over 70 years to win a gubernatorial race. Since then, Republicans have carried North Carolina in 9 Presidential elections, while Democrats have only won two. Yet the opposite pattern developed for gubernatorial races; since 1972, Democrats have won nine gubernatorial races while Republicans have only won this race three times. The 2022 North Carolina Senate race is slightly reminiscent of the 2016 North Carolina Senate race; both in 2016 and 2022, the Democratic party decided to put their support behind prominent women. In 2016 former North Carolina House representative Deborah Ross (D) had a promising run but she ended up only securing 45.4%(2,128,165 votes) and lost to incumbent Richard Burr (R) with 51.1% of the vote or 2,395,376 votes. 

In the 2020 Presidential Race, Trump won the state for the second time, with 49.9.1% of the vote or 2,758,775 votes against Joe Biden (48.7%). Yet, in the same year, Roy Cooper (D) won the 2020 North Carolina gubernatorial race with 51.5% of the vote (2,834,790). Additionally, incumbent Thom Tillis (R) won reelection to the Senate with 49.7% (2,665,598) over challenger Cal Cunningham (D), 46.9% (2,569,965).  That same election, both Budd and Beasley ran in races. In the 2020 General election for the U.S. House North Carolina District 13, Ted Budd (R) won his race with 68.2% or 267,181 against Scott Huffman (D), who secured 31.8% in a safe Republican district. Budd ran unopposed in the primary.

Based on the state’s recent electoral history, the battleground-like nature of the state, and the circumstances surrounding this year, Beasley has a strong chance of helping Democrats expand their majority in the Senate.  Recent legislative wins, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Biden’s student loan cancellation policy, should incentive Democrats to vote Similarly, Republican-backed policies, such as anti-abortion measures, are expected to turn voters out. Voter turnout for Beasley’s opponent Budd will be noteworthy to watch as well since he is a part of the cohort of Trump-backed candidates running this year. 

Policy Priorities:

As gleaned from candidate’s submitted V4P Questionnaire, website and research by V4P staff

Strengthening our Democracy

• Beasley speaks about how her mother was able to vote because of the Voting Rights Act, noting that now nearly 60 years later, we still need to fight for the “fundamental right” to vote. She has called the For the People Act “critical.” 
• Beasley refuses “to accept corporate PAC money in her run for Senate.”
• Beasley has indicated that she will fight to get secret money out of politics and supports the Freedom to Vote Act, among others.
• Beasley also said that she supports overturning Citizens United, requiring funding disclosures from outside groups and a voluntary matching small-dollar contributions program.

Championing a Healthy Climate and Environment

• Beasley has said she supports investing in “climate resilient infrastructure, expanding our renewable energy industry and ensuring workers across North Carolina receive the training they need for clean energy jobs.”
• Beasley supports efforts to strengthen environmental justice and has spoken on the need to act urgently to “address systemic disproportionate impacts of climate change and pollution on vulnerable communities in North Carolina.”
• Beasley supports transitioning to a 100% clean energy economy by 2050, achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, decarbonizing the transportation sector, and ending fossil fuel subsidies. 

Health Care and Reproductive Justice

• A top priority for Beasley is lowering health care costs by expanding the Affordable Care Act with a public option, requiring drug companies to negotiate with Medicare to lower prices, and capping insulin costs at $35/month
• Beasley believes that “every North Carolinian must have access to quality affordable health care.”
• Health care is personal for Beasley, whose twins required extensive medical care when they were born. Beasley has firsthand experience “fight[ing] with insurance companies and pay[ing] steep out of pocket costs over the years” and asserts that “luck should not determine if and when you can see a doctor.” 
• Additionally, Beasley supports expanding Medicaid and “expand[ing] resources for rural hospitals and health providers.” 
• Beasley wants to help “protect and expand access to women’s reproductive health care services,” and supports federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
• Following the Dobbs decision, Beasley said, “as a former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, I know that access to reproductive freedom is a constitutional right.”
• Beasley supports reproductive justice and indicated she will support legislation to codify Roe v. Wade into law.

Ensuring Economic Justice for All

• During the early days of the pandemic, Beasley moved aggressively to halt evictions.
• Beasley supports reforming student loan programs and wants to increase funding for “community college, apprenticeships, vocational training programs, (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)”.
• Beasley has indicated that she supports investing in affordable childcare programs such as universal pre-k, increasing Title I funding, and fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education fund.
• Beasley is a former SEIU member and a strong supporter of “the labor movement and the PRO Act as well as the Paycheck Fairness Act”. Additionally, Beasley has indicated that she believes all workers “deserve fair wages, safe working conditions and the ability to work and build a business in an environment free from discrimination.”
• Beasley assisted in creating a family leave policy for NC court employees when she served as Chief Justice and later amended the policy to make parental leave available for attorneys practicing in North Carolina’s courts.
• Beasley will support legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, strengthen organized labor, and strengthen the care economy (paid family and medical leave, affordable child care, and home and community-based services). She will also support efforts to cancel student loan debt.
• Beasley also believes in reforming student loan programs so “our students are not hampered by mountains of debt when they graduate.”
• Beasley supports permanently expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. 

Ensuring Racial and Social Justice for All

• She supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, and during the protests following the murder of George Floyd, Beasley held a press conference to address the intersection of the justice system and the protests occurring in cities and communities across North Carolina. 
• As Chief Justice in NC, Beasley worked to make the courts more equitable by expanding drug treatment and mental health courts. Beasley also established the Faith and Justice Alliance, a coalition of legal, community, and faith leaders working together to help provide legal resources to low-income North Carolinians throughout the state. 
• Beasley supports reforming court sentencing, including ending some mandatory minimums and ending the cash bail system, particularly for nonviolent offenders. 
• She also supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and investing in reentry programs that help people who have recently been incarcerated successfully re-enter society and become contributing members of our communities.
• Beasley has said she will protect the DACA program and “keep promises to DREAMers.”
• Beasley will support a pathway to citizenship for immigrants and comprehensive federal justice, policing, and safety reform. 
• Beasley will cosponsor legislation to protect LGBTQIA+ people.

*Profile updated as of October 26, 2022