Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) has agreed to debate Cheri Beasley in the race to fill retiring Sen. Richard Burr’s (R-NC) seat, according to local news reports.
Budd and former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Beasley (D) will participate in a televised Oct. 7 debate in Raleigh with Spectrum News 1, the Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday. The station’s Tim Boyum will moderate the debate, and the debate will be available across the state on channel 1 for Spectrum subscribers.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley laughs with husband Curtis Owens, right, while son Matthew Owens, watches, before she speaks with reporters at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson).
Beasley’s campaign manager Travis Brimm told the publication she is “prepared and ready to meet Congressman Budd on his preferred debate stage — because she believes that every North Carolinian deserves to see the clear choice before them this Fall.”
Budd’s senior adviser Jonathan Felts said the campaign looks “forward to Cheri Beasley explaining why she keeps embracing Joe Biden’s reckless spending policies that are driving up inflation and crushing family budgets across NC.”
The Oct. 7 debate is the “first debate both major Senate candidates have agreed to participate in,” according to Spectrum News 1.
Budd and Beasley have been running a close race, although the most recent polling shows Budd ahead of Beasley by three points with fewer than 60 days out from the election.