Much of the media attention in the North Carolina races has focused on the presidential duel between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris and the gubernatorial race between Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson (R) and Attorney General Josh Stein (D).
But another case has taken off in recent weeks, thanks in part to a defamation lawsuit recently submitted of the Republican nominee and a disturbing video of the 2022 Democratic nominee that surfaced on social media this week.
Since Stein is running for governor, the attorney general’s office is up for grabs. Rep. Dan Bishop is the Republican candidate in this race, while Rep. Jeff Jackson is the Democratic candidate. Both previously served in the North Carolina state legislature, with Bishop serving at various times in both the House and Senate and Jackson serving in the state Senate.
SEE ALSO: Victories for RFK Jr. as courts in North Carolina, Michigan decide to remove his name from the ballot
On Thursday, a clip was shared on Twitter/X of Jackson hugging a registered sex offender and local LGBTQ leader during a December 2022 event where Jackson received an award from a group in which the man in question allegedly held a leadership role :
The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan shared more about the event in an article featuring Jackson, also known as the “TikTok Congressman” because of his gigantic TikTok following report submitted earlier:
Footage from the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce event on December 13, 2022 shows Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC) on stage praising the work of LGBTQ activists before addressing Chad Turner, a registered sex offender and CEO of the LGBT+ Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, hugs. Turner, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Daily Wire, was accused with three counts of lewd acts on minors under 16 years of age.
“You are a hugely influential and positive force for this city and the people who live here. I’m so grateful to you,” Jackson told the assembled crowd after the meeting awarded him the “Advancing Equity Award”.
Turner became infamous in Charlotte for all the wrong reasons in 2016, when he headed the Charlotte LGBT Chamber after campaigning for a controversial, Democratic-led Charlotte City Council Regulation This allowed men who identified as women, and vice versa, to apply the restrooms/changing rooms of their choice.
When his past as a registered, convicted sex offender came to featherlight, he said reportedly resigned from the chamber:
The head of Charlotte’s LGBT Chamber resigned after his sexual predator past came to featherlight.
Chad Sevearance-Turner was once a youth minister and was convicted in 1998 of fondling a teenager.
Turner moved to North Carolina, became an busy member of the LGBT Chamber and fought for equal rights.
However, as Olohan noted, Turner’s so-called resignation seemed to be more about that Smoke and mirrors:
But Turner’s resignation appears to have been a media ploy at best and an outright lie at worst. The Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce still lists him as its president and CEO, and his LinkedIn profile states that he served as president of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce from January 2013 to December 2020 and as chief executive from December 2020 to the present Officer acted.
By the way, the Charlotte ordinance that Turner supported was the basis for HB2, also known as the “bathroom bill,” which Bishop co-sponsored during his time as a state representative and which Jackson supported fought and demagoged on cable news networks.
All of this raises the question of why Jackson would accept an award from a group that appears to have no problem with a convicted sex offender taking a leadership role. On that issue, the Daily Wire report said Jackson’s office said he “didn’t know anything about an individual’s status” when he accepted the award. I really find that strenuous to believe considering how much media attention Turner received in 2016 in that part of the state (which was also Jackson’s part of the state).
The focus of North Carolina politicians and news outlets right now is on the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. So it’s not clear how much traction this story will have beyond the conservative media, especially given the left-wing bias of most media here.
Regardless, voters should consider Jackson’s questionable judgment on issues like these (and the bathroom law) before going to the polls in November.
FLASHBACK: North Carolina Democrats get eerily Orwellian as Republicans question state officials about Wuhan virus data
