A twice-convicted sex offender opened a campaign event for North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley with a prayer for “integrity and honesty.”
Pastor Daimon L. King is a registered sex offender who was twice sentenced to prison for convictions involving children, according to court records, the Associated Press reported. At the event, King also asked God to right the wrongs he claimed have been “hammered down” on the conservative movement.
Ironically, one of Whatley’s key attacks in his race for the Senate against former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is that his Democratic opponent is soft on crime.
The Democratic Party is currently targeting a different high-profile Republican, a former official, who is also a convicted sex offender—and an associate of Whatley’s.
A Whatley campaign spokesperson told AP that the candidate was unaware of King’s criminal record and said Whatley did not organize the event or invite the guests. The campaign said the Craven County Republican Party hosted the event.
The Daily Beast could not immediately reach King for comment.
The smiling pastor can be seen over Whatley’s shoulder in a video the candidate posted to X, as Whatley spoke at the event alongside TV personality-turned-Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) boss Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Oz complained about rampant fraud in America and the state, as well as “stealing from the poor,” without offering specific details.
The remarks came just days after Trump vowed to pay every adult in America $5,000 if Republicans win the midterms—a proposal that would cost the federal government an estimated $1.3 trillion.
One commenter on X snapped: ”There’s no staggering fraud... except in the White House.” Another quipped: “LOL. How to lose a Senate race in 64 days.”
The news about King comes as the Trump administration faces continued pressure over the still-hidden and heavily redacted Jeffrey Epstein files, which contain references to people connected to Epstein’s global sex trafficking operation, including the trafficking of children.
The face-off between Whatley and Cooper is one of many closely watched races in the nation that will determine who controls the Senate. Whatley chaired the North Carolina GOP from 2019 until Trump promoted him two years ago to head of the Republican National Committee. He stepped down to run for the Senate at Trump’s urging.
