Theodore Paul Budd (born October 21, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina’s 13th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, his district covers the north-central part of the state. Budd is the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in North Carolina to replace retiring Republican Senator Richard Burr.

Early life and career

Budd was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1971.^[1] When he was young, his family moved^[2] to a 300-acre (120 ha) farm on the Yadkin River in Davie County outside Advance, where they raise cattle and chickens.^[3][4][5][6] His father owned a facility-services company.^[4]

Budd attended Summit School,^[7] a private school in Winston-Salem, before attending Davie County High School, graduating in 1990.^[8] He then went to Appalachian State University, where he studied business, graduating in 1994.^[9][3] Budd earned his master’s degree in business administration from the Wake Forest University School of Business.^[3][4] He owns a gun store in Rural Hall, North Carolina.^[3][4]

The Budd family loaned $10 million to AgriBioTech, which was repaid with over $25,000 in interest. The company later declared bankruptcy.^[10]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Following court-mandated redistricting, the old 13th district essentially merged with the 2nd district. A new 13th district was created, stretching from the northern suburbs of Charlotte to Greensboro. The old 13th’s incumbent, Republican George Holding, opted to run in the 2nd. Budd ran as one of 17 candidates in the ensuing Republican primary for the 13th district in the 2016 elections.^[11] His home had previously been in the 5th district but had been drawn into the 13th.

With the help of the Club for Growth, which spent over $285,000 on his campaign,^[5] Budd won the primary with 20% of the vote.^[12][13] He defeated Bruce Davis, a former Guilford County commissioner, in the general election,^[14] with 56% of the vote.^[15] He was sworn into office on January 3, 2017.^[16] Budd is a member of the Freedom Caucus.^[17]

Tenure

In late February 2021, Budd and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote in their place, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their slated absences.^[18] In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Budd and the other lawmakers.^[19]

Political positions

Affordable Care Act

Budd opposes the Affordable Care Act and voted to repeal it in 2017.^[20]

2020 presidential election

In December 2020, Budd was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed by long-indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the United States Supreme Court.^[21][22] It contested the results of the 2020 presidential election, in four states, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where Joe Biden defeated^[23] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by other states.^[24][25][26]

On January 6, 2021, Budd was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing an emergency recess of Congress.^[27] Budd contended that officials in Pennsylvania had acted “illegally” and “violated” both the Constitution of the United States and that of their own state.^[28] He said, “I cannot consent to accepting Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.”^[28]

Voting rights and election integrity

Budd opposes the For the People Act, a Democratic bill intended to expand voting rights. Budd said that the bill undermines election integrity by expanding “no excuse” absentee voting and weakening voter ID requirements. He said that the bill would allow minors to vote. PolitiFact ruled this claim false, as the bill would only allow those under 18 to register to vote. Amendments to the bill that would lower the voting age to 16 failed in both 2019 and 2021.^[29]

Foreign policy

In 2020, Budd voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan without congressional approval.^[30]

In 2021, Budd was one of 14 Republican representatives to vote against a measure condemning the 2021 Myanmar coup d’état.^[31]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services^[32]
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions
  • Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus^[33]
• Task Force on Artificial Intelligence^[32]
• Republican Study Committee^[34]

2022 U.S. Senate campaign

On April 23, 2021, Budd went to Mar-a-Lago to discuss his prospective U.S. Senate candidacy with former U.S. President Donald Trump.^[28] On April 28, 2021, Budd announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by the retiring Richard Burr.^[35] At the Republican state convention in Greenville on June 5, Budd received the endorsements of Donald Trump and Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who had declined to run for the seat.^[36][10] Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he would remain in the race despite Trump’s endorsement. A third declared candidate, Representative Mark Walker, said he too would stay in the race, maintaining that he had won a straw poll of those attending the convention.^{[37][38][39][40]}

Budd won the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.^[41] He will face Democratic nominee Cheri Beasley in the November 2022 general election.

Personal life

Budd met his wife, Amy Kate, on a mission to the Soviet Union in 1991.^[4] They have three children. They live on the Davie County farm where Budd was raised.^[4]

References

External links

• House website
• Campaign website
• Ted Budd at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN