A pastor who delivered the opening prayer at a recent campaign rally for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley is a registered sex offender with two prior felony convictions involving children, according to state and court records. Pastor Daimon L. King prayed for integrity and honesty at the event, which took place two months before a crucial Senate race that could determine control of the chamber.
Whatley's campaign stated that the candidate did not know King and that the event was not organized 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.
The incident risks complicating Whatley's campaign message, which has argued that his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, is lenient on crime. It also could amplify Democratic advertising that has focused on Whatley's association with another convicted sex offender, former GOP official Harvey L. West Jr.
King, 60, leads the New Beginnings Celebration church in New Bern, North Carolina. He has become more visible in Republican politics, identifying as a pro-Trump Black conservative and serving as a precinct chairman for the Craven County GOP. Sermons uploaded to YouTube show him praising Trump and criticizing "fake news."
The rally on Aug. 28 also featured Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. King was seen in a video from the event in the background, nodding and giving a thumbs-up while Whatley and Oz spoke. The pastor later posted on Facebook that the atmosphere was "charged with prayer and patriotism" and that his church "fully support[s] and are behind" Whatley.
King's criminal history includes a 1998 conviction for statutory rape and indecent liberties with a 15-year-old student. He served nearly five years in prison before being paroled. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to sex offenses involving an underage relative and served close to three years. He is required by North Carolina law to register as a sex offender for life.
Whatley, who previously chaired the North Carolina GOP and the Republican National Committee, has faced scrutiny since March over his ties to West. West, a former police officer, was convicted of five counts of indecent liberties with a child and served six years in prison. He was forced to step down from a state GOP position in 2012 after his conviction became public.
West stated that he had been transparent with party leaders about his past and acknowledged holding appointed roles when Whatley was chairman. He also said he had warned others in the party about King's convictions, noting, "I just said, 'Hey, y'all might want to take a look at this.'"
Democrats have spent over $2.3 million on advertisements that include a photograph of Whatley and West together, continuing to highlight the association. Political science professor Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University suggested that such revelations could hinder Whatley's efforts to gain support from the hard-right wing of the Republican base.