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6h ago

Convicted Sex Offender Led Prayer at Whatley Rally

Testing local party vetting procedures, the revelation intensifies Democratic advertising against the GOP nominee.

Michael Whatley, North Carolina senatorial candidate, greets delegates as he takes the stage at the Republican convention in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
FILE - North Carolina Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Michael Whatley addresses the crowd before Vice President JD Vance speaks, March 13, 2026, in Rocky Mount, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
DALLAS, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 09: North Carolina Republican Senate candidate, former RNC Chairman Michael Whatley gestures as he walks on stage on the first day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 09, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. U.S. President Donald Trump will headline the Republican National Committee's first-ever midterm convention as he aims to highlight his administration’s achievements and rally support for GOP candidates just two months before the upcoming elections being held on November 3. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Overview

  • At an Aug. 28 rally at the Craven County GOP headquarters in New Bern, Pastor Daimon L. King delivered the opening prayer and appears behind speakers in a campaign video.
  • State and court records show King was convicted in 1998 of charges that included statutory rape of a 15-year-old and in 2010 pleaded guilty to sex with an underage relative, serving nearly five years and nearly three years in prison respectively and required to register as a sex offender for life.
  • The Whatley campaign said it did not organize the event and that King was invited by the Craven County GOP, yet the campaign’s own video shows King standing directly behind Michael Whatley and guest speaker Dr. Mehmet Oz.
  • Democrats have already spent more than $2.3 million on ads tying Whatley to another convicted offender, Harvey L. West Jr., and they are now amplifying the King revelation as a campaign liability.
  • The episode has renewed scrutiny of local party vetting, follows a state GOP ban on convicted sex offenders holding party office, and could complicate Whatley’s law-and-order message in a closely watched Senate race.