North Carolina House Candidate Drops Out After Trump Endorsement
Kelly Daughtry has been considered the frontrunner for NC-13 virtually since she announced her campaign.
In March, Daughtry was beating Brad Knott by four points in polling.
She extended that lead to a very impressive 51% to 32% over Knott in April in the same poll.
Yet, after Trump endorsed Knott, Daughtry decided to drop out.
Running Scared
I know the legend of how powerful Trump’s endorsement is in primary races, but this has me completely baffled.
I have never before seen a frontrunner drop out of the race unless some sort of scandal was brewing, and that was not the case here.
On Thursday, Daughtry stunned everyone by dropping out simply because Trump had endorsed Knott in the race.
Daughtry stated, “In light of President Trump’s endorsement of Brad Knott for the Congressional seat in District 13, it has become clear that a pathway to victory is no longer feasible.
“I believe in the democratic process and respect the endorsement of our President.
“The time has now come to suspend my campaign. Although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.
“I will focus on conservative voter registration operations and supporting the nominated conservative judicial candidates running in November.”
Daughtry went on to endorse Knott and asked the party to unite behind him and Donald Trump in the upcoming general election.
Daughtry concluded by thanking her supporters, who have to feel betrayed at this point, stating, “To those who voted for me — thank you for believing in me and giving me the civic and sacred honor of your vote.
“The time is now for Republicans to unite together and win in November. I will be right beside you in working to deliver that victory.”
I guess we will find out soon enough if this was the right or wrong thing for Daughtry to do, as this seat will now clearly be considered one of those seats that weigh the strength of a Trump endorsement in a general election versus the primary race.
