A registered sex offender, twice sentenced to prison for convictions involving children, delivered the opening prayer at a recent campaign rally for Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. The incident occurred two months before the November election, in a race that could determine control of the Senate.
Pastor Daimon L. King offered a prayer asking for integrity and honesty at the campaign stop for Whatley, who has argued that his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, is lenient on crime. The association with King could complicate Whatley's campaign message.
Whatley's campaign stated that the candidate did not know King and that the event was not organized or planned by the campaign. A campaign spokesman, DJ Griffin, said King was invited by the hosts, identified as the Craven County Republican Party. Officials from the county party could not be reached for comment.
King, 60, leads the New Beginnings Celebration church in New Bern. He has become more visible in Republican politics, presenting himself as a pro-Trump Black conservative and serving as a precinct chairman for the Craven County GOP. He has praised former President Donald Trump and criticized "fake news" in online sermons.
The rally, held at the Craven County GOP headquarters, also featured Whatley and Dr. Mehmet Oz. A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Whatley's campaign showed King in the background, nodding and giving a thumbs-up during speeches by Whatley and Oz.
King posted on his church's Facebook group the following day, describing the event as having an atmosphere "charged with prayer and patriotism." He added that he and his church "fully support and are behind" Whatley.
Records indicate that King was convicted of statutory rape and indecent liberties with a minor in 1998 and served nearly five years in prison. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to sex offenses with an underage relative and served close to three years. He is required by North Carolina law to register as a sex offender for life.
This situation comes as Whatley, who formerly chaired the North Carolina GOP and was elevated to lead the Republican National Committee before stepping down to run for the Senate, has already faced scrutiny over his past ties to Harvey L. West Jr., another convicted sex offender. West served as a congressional district committee chair in the state GOP when Whatley was chairman. West was convicted of indecent liberties with a child and served six years in prison.
Democrats have spent more than $2.3 million on advertisements featuring a photo of Whatley and West together, linking the Republican nominee to West's past. West has stated he was transparent about his history with party leaders and acknowledged being appointed to roles when Whatley was chairman, though he said Whatley did not put him in those positions directly.
Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, suggested that revelations like King's involvement could make it more difficult for Whatley to gain support from hard-right conservatives, a segment of the Republican base that has not fully coalesced behind him.