The former chief justice of North Carolina‘s state Supreme Court found an unlikely political ally in anti-police Squad member Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo.
Like many other Democrats in the Tarheel State, former Justice Cheri Beasley was ousted by voters from her elected court position during the 2020 election.
But she wasted little time in announcing her intention to run for the US Senate seat being vacated next year by retiring Republican incumbent Richard Burr.
Both of the major parties are expected to see extremely crowded fields in the lead-up to the 2022 election.
On the Republican end, US Rep. Ted Budd and former Gov. Pat McCrory lead the pack after Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of former president Donald Trump, bowed out.
Trump already has endorsed Budd, giving him a crucial edge in the race.
Along with Beasley, state Sen. Jeff Jackson appears to be the front-runner for Democrats.
Jackson has drawn comparisons in many ways, to Cal Cunningham, a failed 2020 candidate who ran as a conservative/centrist Democrat against incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis but was hamstrung by an explosive sex scandal in the final stretch.
With Jackson claiming the center-left position, Beasley has sought the outside track, seeking to delineate herself by soliciting support from radical progressives like Bush.
Beasley filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission for a June 18 fundraiser with the freshman congresswoman, the North State Journal reported.
The timing, however, may have been unfortunate for Beasley as she attempts to prove herself a viable contender in the red-leaning state (despite her efforts as a judge to flip it via court-forced gerrymandering).
Bush recently garnered considerable controversy and criticism for an anti-patriotic July 4 tweet.
When they say that the 4th of July is about American freedom, remember this: the freedom they’re referring to is for white people.
This land is stolen land and Black people still aren’t free.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 4, 2021
As noted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, she also has been an outspoken supporter of the “defund the police” movement, which many Democrats are now scrambling to double back on, if not deny outright.
Investing more money in policing is always bad, actually.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) May 21, 2021
“Cheri Beasley has already made a blunder for the ages by teaming up with a Defund the Police, anti-Independence Day radical to raise money and win support from socialists,” said NRSC Spokesman T.W. Arrighi in a press release.
“For Democrats in North Carolina, appeasing a vocal minority of voters is more important than disparaging our nation, our cops, and those of all backgrounds who’ve fought and died to protect Americans like her,” Arrighi continued. “We are sure general election voters will not forget this next November.”
