GREENSBORO, N.C. — Cal Cunningham walked into BBQ Center of Lexington the day after securing 57 percent of the vote in North Carolina's democratic senate primary race and admitted he had a lot of work to do. That comes as Senator Thom Tillis made his return to Washington, D.C. after the election. Davidson County has run predominately red for the past decade, according to the county's Board of Elections.
If he's going to unseat (R.) Senator Thom Tillis in the upcoming General Election, he'll need to flip numerous counties across the state. He couldn't think of a better place to start than in his home town.
"First and foremost, this community knows me. This community raised me," Cunningham said of Lexington, "Folks are going to come into this campaign from this debate from many different perspectives. Part of my job as a candidate, part of my job as a future US Senator, as a person who wants to represent all 10.5 million North Carolinians, is to start by listening."
Cunningham's "Carolina Conversations" tour kicked off with a luncheon roundtable. He met with community members to answer questions that ranged from his policy to his strategy for November. Surrounded by supporters at BBQ Center, he understands the remaining stops may not be as friendly.
"We’re not always going to agree on the issues, and that’s okay, but we can be respectful of each other. We can have reasoned dialogue about how we solve some of this nation’s problems and that’s what starting this Carolina Conversation tour right here is all about," Cunningham said.
The tour lasts two days from March 3-4, 2020. His campaign has yet to release Thursday's schedule. Today, in addition to the BBQ Center, Cunningham stopped at Mean Mug Coffee Shop in Salisbury (Rowan County) and at a non-commercial location in Cabarrus County.
Senator Thom Tillis issued the following statement on the results of the Senate Democratic primary:
“I am honored to have earned the Republican nomination tonight, and pledge to work as hard as I can to hold this seat and get President Trump re-elected so that we can continue to partner on wins for North Carolinians of all backgrounds and political affiliations.
“This race will present a clear contrast between me and my opponent, Cal Cunningham. I want to keep working with President Trump to create jobs, boost wages, secure winning trade deals, rebuild our military, improve health care for veterans, combat sanctuary cities, and confirm well-qualified judges to the federal bench. My opponent, on the other hand, spent his primary embracing far left positions like removing President Trump from office, repealing the 2017 tax cuts, enabling sanctuary cities, opposing America-First trade policies, and criticizing the killing of a murderous terrorist from Iran.
“These positions alone would be dangerous for North Carolina, but now that Mr. Cunningham has vowed to support whoever wins the Democratic nomination for President, this race will certainly be a referendum on the free market policies that have made this country great, and the radical liberal agenda of higher taxes and more government control being advocated for by the national Democratic party.
“I am pleased that my opponent has already accepted my challenge to participate in five debates during the general election, and believe I will be victorious in this race when North Carolinians are made aware of the stark differences between my record of common-sense conservative accomplishments and the socialist direction the Democrats want to take this country in.”
Cal Cunningham spoke to voters after the primary election while taking the podium on Super Tuesday.
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