Meet United States Senator Ted Budd
New podcast and YouTube channel for North Carolina conservatives to meet leaders and hear about issues that matter to them
Here are the show links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/01rc7UINrZ3obbYYnmgkhu
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/carolina-conversations/id1835919457
About Carolina Conversations
This is a new podcast for conservatives in North Carolina to meet our leaders and hear about issues we care about. I try to focus on issues that go beyond the everyday chatter and discuss items that deeply impact our state.
Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded at the end of August in Brevard, North Carolina. We held the release due to the devastating events of last week.
Meet United States Senator Ted Budd
Life before politics
As we discussed during the interview, Budd grew up on a farm in Davie County after his family relocated from New Jersey. He met his wife, Amy Kate, while on a Mission Trip with CREW (then Campus Crusade for Christ) in the Soviet Union. Ted graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in business. Then he attended and graduated, along with his wife Amy Kate, from Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned a Masters of Theology and Educational Leadership in 1998. Finishing out his education, Budd earned a Masters of Business Administration from Wake Forest University in 2007.
In 2010, Ted went into business with a friend to purchase a bankrupt gun range in Rural Hall. In the interview, Ted says the first client was the Winston-Salem police department, and eventually the range was open to the public. The store’s motto is “Helping our community responsibly enjoy firearms.”
Jumping into the fray:
In 2016, Senator Ted Budd’s friend, Jonathan Felts, approached Ted about running for an open House seat that opened up to redistricting in 2016. Felts and Budd had been friends since going to church camp in high school. While Ted was not a political animal following the details of redistricting, Felts has a long career in politics, including a stint in the George W. Bush White House as the White House Political Director, serving as a key advisor to the president, the vice president, and the White House senior staff on matters of politics, policy, and domestic travels. After his time in the White House, Felts apparently could not get enough campaigning and served in Kabul, Afghanistan, helping Afghans learn how to run for office.
Felts successfully convinced Ted to jump into a 17-person race for the Republican nomination for the 13Congressional District. Despite having no previous political experience, Budd secured a commanding victory, outperforming established politicians who served in the state legislature and other positions.
In 2018, Democrats were hoping to ride a blue wave through Ted’s district and oust him from Congress. Democrats spent over $3.6 million trying to defeat Budd, while Republicans spent about $2.1 million. Nationally, Republicans lost 40 seats, but Budd defeated his opponent 51.5% to 45.5%.
Heading to the Senate
In April 2021, Budd launched a bid for the United States Senate, facing former Governor Pat McCrory and former Congressman Mark Walker in the Republican Primary. That June, Budd secured the endorsement of President Donald Trump and eventually won the Republican nomination that March. Similar to his race in 2018, against the national environment, Budd successfully defeated former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, 50.5% to 47.5%.
Since joining the Senate, Budd has been a solid conservative voice, helping advance an America First policy agenda. Here are some highlights from the interview about Budd’s work in the Senate.
When Helene struck, Budd worked with his office to identify and coordinate relief efforts across Western North Carolina. He’s still working to help the region recover today.
Budd worked to advocate for the North Carolinians held hostage by Hama, who were released under the Trump administration.
Finally, Budd worked to integrate the Pell Act into the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which allows students to access federal resources for job training programs.
Here is what Senator Budd is working on that we didn’t have time to discuss in the interview, and that is largely ignored by the mainstream media.
Budd worked to include language in the annual defense bill to increase pay raises for our troops and funding for North Carolina’s major military installations.
Back in July, Budd introduced the Streamlining American Manufacturing Strategy Act. This legislation would amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to align the timelines for multiple advanced manufacturing initiatives to every four years on the same cycle. This would effectively streamline the policy goals, increasing collaboration with industry partners.
Sen. Budd introduced the Foreign Registration Obligations for Nonprofit Transparency (FRONT) Act, which would require nonprofits in the United States that receive funding from foreign principals in countries of concern, such as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The bill would also require nonprofits to disclose the activities they use foreign funds to engage in to mitigate future unrest.
Senator Ted Budd is strong conservative leader working a variety of issues that impact North Carolinians. We hope this conversation helps you get to know the Senator better.
