Source: Fox News
Summary
A Democratic candidate for the North Carolina state legislature, Shelly Headen, remains on the ballot despite her party condemning her for inflammatory social media posts. The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus and a county party group criticized her remarks, which included calls for an attack on U.S. soil and comparisons of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Headen, who is running against Republican John Blust, has apologized for the posts but defended them as “a few angry moments.” The party withdrew support, but the filing deadline to remove her had passed, and ballots were already sent out.
Our Reading
As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
Headen remains on the ballot despite party condemnation.
Her posts resurface, drawing new attention and outrage.
Party leaders condemn, but the race is already set.
Political violence and insults become part of the routine.
Author: Evan Null
Shelly Headen’s Campaign and Party Reactions
Shelly Headen, a Democrat running for the North Carolina state legislature, has faced significant backlash after her inflammatory social media posts resurfaced. The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus and a county party group both condemned her remarks, which included calls for an attack on U.S. soil and comparisons of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. Despite the criticism, Headen remains on the ballot because the filing deadline to drop out had already passed.
Headen, who is challenging Republican state Rep. John Blust for the House District 62 seat in Guilford County, posted a year ago that “I think our only hope is an attack on US Soil … preferably Alabama, Louisiana … where the stupid people live.” In separate posts, she argued that the damage done by Trump was “getting close to surpassing Hitler” and claimed the “MAGA cult may be more destructive and evil than the Nazis.”
Headen denied last week to the Greensboro News and Record that she posted the concentration camp image and said she believed the image was edited to include the words over a real photo. Her old comments grabbed new national attention earlier this week when the White House Rapid Response account that supports Trump shared them on X and charged that Democrats “ARE SICK PEOPLE!”
North Carolina Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley posted on social media a photo of Headen and former Gov. Roy Cooper, the Democratic Senate nominee, and argued, “Roy Cooper still stands with NC Dem who called for the genocide of Republicans. This is against everything America stands for.” Cooper’s campaign emphasized that he strongly condemns the remarks and all forms of political violence.
Headen, a certified public accountant and small business owner, told WFDD, a public radio station in North Carolina, that she didn’t remember making the posts but apologized to those hurt by them. And she added that she understood the party’s decision to drop support for her. But in an interview with The Assembly, a digital-first news operation in North Carolina, Headen defended her posts, describing them as “a few angry moments.”
