North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis has drawn ire for some time now with his fellow Republican colleagues. Politics Elections recently did a story highlighting some of the reasons why and providing some information on pro-Trump Republican Senate Candidate and primary challenger Sandy Smith.
Now there has been some speculation of others getting into the race as many in the Trump base are very unhappy with Senator Tillis. One speculation was Congressman Mark Meadows may toss his hat in the ring. Well, you can see in the video below he has no intentions of doing so, but he also doesn’t make any strong statements for or against Tillis, leaving one to wonder where Meadows stands on the upcoming race. Perhaps it’s best if he focuses on being Congressman Meadows since he isn’t tossing his hat in after all.
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Another person whose name is being tossed around and even recommended by some Republican leaders such as Diane Parnell, the chairwoman of the Rockingham County Republican Party, is current U.S. Rep. Mark Walker. He’s considered to be a Trump supporter but has some baggage associated with him that may be hard to shake.
Simply put, being “entangled in a Federal corruption probe” is not the best launching pad for a new run for office, especially when you already hold a seat.
Recently, state GOP chairman and former congressman Robin Hayes, along with business owner Greg Lindberg were arrested on bribery charges, and Hayes is also charged with three counts of lying to the FBI. Two business associates of Lindberg’s were also arrested. F
A Walker-controlled political committee received $150,000 from Greg Lindberg at the same time Lindberg allegedly asked him to pressure North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to replace his deputy, according to a criminal indictment unsealed on Tuesday. Walker, a member of GOP leadership, is not named in the indictment. However, POLITICO has identified him as “Public Official A” using the indictment and Federal Election Commission records.
Three-term U.S. Rep. Mark Walker was quickly identified from the unsealed indictments as “Public Official A.” According to texts and emails released by the Justice Department, Walker was the recipient of $150,000 in political donations from Lindberg around the same time that one of Lindberg’s consultants asked him in a February 2018 email to lean on Causey to replace his deputy.
Walker denied any illegal activities when reached for comment by Politico.
In an April 11th Tweet by “OpenSecrets.org”, you can read about Republican N.C. Rep Mark Walker’s connection to the scandal.
“Expenditure reports of Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., show a $50K payment to a law firm that specializes in white-collar defense and congressional investigations – the payment came just before the indictment of campaign donor Greg Lindberg”
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While Walker wasn’t directly indicted, it seems the last thing the Trump base and Republican party needs is to be tied to scandals. The messy and complicated situation is not something that other leaders and President Trump will want to be dragged into the national spotlight going into the 2020 Presidential campaign.
It is also rumored that a supporter of John Kasich, who hails from the Never Trump wing of the party is also going to join the race. The name in question, Garland Tucker III, is not seen as a conservative, but more of a moderate who will likely pull votes from Tillis’ base.