North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham admitted he exchanged sexual texts with a married woman who is not his wife, but new reports suggest their relationship went beyond these explicit digital messages.
New texts obtained by WRAL and later verified by the Associated Press now suggest that Cunningham had a sexual relationship with Arlene Guzman Todd. According to the Associated Press, through several interviews late Monday as well as from texts, Guzman Todd talked about two in-person meetings with Cunningham, one encounter in March that she noted did not include intimate contact and a second meeting back in July in North Carolina where such contact did occur.
In one of the messages obtained by the Associated Press, Todd texted a friend about an intimate encounter with Cunningham at his home and called the experience “weird.” She also became upset with the North Carolina Democrat saying in another text he did not pay enough attention to her and she could ruin his political career.
“I’m just going to send to his opponent his naked photos,” Todd wrote. “That will teach him.”
“You don’t deserve me Cal,” she said in another message, adding later, “he knows [that I] can tank his campaign.”
The Associated Press reported that the new text messages confirm that Cunningham and Todd were intimate on at least one occasion after it was revealed last week that the two had exchanged salacious messages.
“A few months back, I displayed a lapse in judgment by engaging in a relationship with Cal Cunningham during a period of marital separation,” Todd said in a statement to the newswire. “The relationship spanned several months and consisted primarily of a series of text exchanges and an in-person encounter.”
It is unknown if Cunningham used any campaign resources or funds to facilitate his encounters with Todd.
Cunningham, a former state senator and Army reservist, is married with two children. He apologized Saturday for sending the sexually charged text messages to Todd, a Los Angeles public relations executive.
“I have hurt my family, disappointed my friends, and am deeply sorry. The first step in repairing those relationships is taking complete responsibility, which I do. I ask that my family’s privacy be respected in this personal matter,” Cunningham said. “I remain grateful and humbled by the ongoing support that North Carolinians have extended in this campaign, and in the remaining weeks before this election, I will continue to work to earn the opportunity to fight for the people of our state.”
A second allegation of a Cunningham extramarital affair was made by attorney Erin Brinkman on Facebook, who claimed her “good friend” has been in a relationship with the candidate since 2012.
The North Carolina Democrat is running in a tight race against Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is quarantining after being diagnosed with COVID-19. It is one of the campaigns that will determine which party controls the Senate next year.
“Cal Cunningham has centered his entire campaign around duty and honor, all while he was sexting and carrying on an affair with the wife of an Army combat veteran,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez in a statement. “North Carolinians deserve answers about Cunningham’s misconduct so they can judge whether he is fit to represent them.”
The Cunningham campaign responded, “Senator Tillis and his allies are trying to exploit a personal matter and ignoring a family’s request for privacy to make desperate attacks in hopes they can distract from Senator Tillis’ record of blocking Medicaid expansion, voting to take protections away from North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions, and failing to pass needed COVID-19 relief for our communities.”
The Cunningham campaign declined to comment further, saying it was a personal matter and reiterating that the Democrat is staying in the race.
