Ted Budd, a gun shop owner from Davie County and a first-time political candidate, took the Republican party’s nomination for the 13th Congressional District on Tuesday night. He emerges from a field of 17 candidates for a seat that will favor the GOP nominee in the November general election.
Budd, a 44-year-old who owns a firearms complex in Rural Hall called ProShots, defeated a crowd of current and former elected officials, propelled by almost $500,000 in spending from the political arm of Club for Growth, a Washington-based conservative group that focuses on economic issues, according to the nonprofit OpenSecrets.
In his campaign Budd championed his outsider status. Club for Growth’s TV spots supporting him described him as a farmer, family man and "home-schooler," who has "never run for office."
Budd said his lack of experience would not interfere with his ability to serve in Congress, though he admitted he would face a steep "learning curve," the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
"I would say the system is designed to have new people coming in," Budd said, according to the Journal.
State legislators redrew North Carolina’s congressional maps in February, after a federal appeals panel found the 1st and 12th Districts were racially gerrymandered. Legislators drew the 13th District to favor the Republican candidate in the general election, giving Budd an advantage over the Democratic nominee.
Five Democrats competed for that party's nomination: former Guilford Commissioner Bruce Davis of High Point; Greensboro photographer Adam Coker; former candidate for state labor commissioner Mazie Ferguson of Greensboro; Durham businessman Kevin Griffin; and Greensboro developer Bob Isner.
