Cheri Beasley is a Democrat running for U.S. Senate. She has spent more than two decades in the judicial system and formerly served as chief justice in the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020.
Beasley is competing against Republican Ted Budd, Libertarian Shannon Bray and Green Party member Matthew Hoh for a soon-to-be vacant Senate seat held by Republican Richard Burr, who is not running for reelection.
The North Carolina race is one of several in the U.S. that could affect the majority in the Senate, which is currently split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats control the majority through the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
According to a statement on her campaign website, Beasley is running because she believes families like her own in North Carolina are “struggling,” and Washington D.C. can do more to help.
“I’m running for Senate to be an independent voice who stands up for North Carolina and what’s right for our state–regardless of the politics,” Beasley wrote in a statement on her campaign website. “And I will bring the same values I was raised with — hard work, integrity, and justice — to fight for every person in our state.”
Beasley and Budd held one lone debate in Raleigh Oct. 7, where Beasley expressed support for expanding health care access, codifying Roe v. Wade and reforming America’s criminal justice system.
Beasley did not respond to Elon News Network’s multiple requests for comment.