Republican Marjorie K. Eastman is running for Senate in North Carolina, undaunted by former President Donald Trump’s early endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd.
Eastman, an Army combat veteran, announced her campaign Tuesday, roughly four months after Trump backed Budd for the Republican nomination in a key battleground for control of the chamber in 2022. With the former president’s endorsement, Budd is the odds-on favorite to win the primary.
But Eastman believes her unique position in the race as a conservative and the only woman could lead to an upset victory.
“I’m a conservative, I’m pro-life, I’m pro-Second Amendment,” Eastman said in her announcement video. “I went to war to fight for our country and our beliefs. Today the mission has changed. Today the mission is here at home.”
BLAKE MASTERS SUPER PAC TARGETS MARK BRNOVICH WITH $1 MILLION AD BUY IN ARIZONA SENATE RACE
With Eastman running, the GOP primary is beginning to look crowded.
In addition to Budd, the field features former Rep. Mark Walker, who had lobbied Trump for an endorsement, and former Gov. Pat McCrory, whom the former president despises.
Once Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, a North Carolina native, chose not to run for Senate, GOP sources believe the former president endorsed Budd because he worried grassroots conservatives would divide votes among the congressman and Walker, opening a path for McCrory, the former Charlotte mayor.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Eastman enlisted in the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her candidacy in North Carolina could scramble projections about the unfolding GOP Senate primary as Sen. Richard Burr, the state’s incumbent Republican, retires.
Republicans have not lost a Senate race or a presidential race in North Carolina since 2008, although national elections since then have been competitive.
<mediadc-iframe data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1633457547022,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000162-079e-d172-a563-4ffe40be0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1633457547022,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000162-079e-d172-a563-4ffe40be0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"iFrameEmbedCode":"","_id":"0000017c-51a8-d5c4-af7f-71ff0f6a0000","_type":"00000161-b425-d761-a563-f7e77e270000"}”>iFrame Object
