Pastor Daimon L. King, a registered sex offender twice imprisoned for convictions involving children, delivered the opening prayer at an August 28 campaign stop for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley. The rally, held at the Craven County Republican Party headquarters in New Bern, North Carolina, also featured Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. King, the leader of New Beginnings Celebration church, has served as a precinct chairman for the local Republican party.
Whatley, who formerly chaired the North Carolina Republican Party and the Republican National Committee, is currently campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat. His campaign stated that Whatley does not know King and that the campaign did not organize the event or invite the guests. Spokesman DJ Griffin said King was invited by the hosts, the Craven County Republican Party. North Carolina Department of Corrections records show King served nearly five years following a 1998 conviction for statutory rape and indecent liberties with a 15-year-old student, and nearly three years after a 2010 guilty plea for having sex with an underage female relative.
The event follows reports regarding Whatley’s associations with Harvey L. West Jr., a former state GOP official and convicted sex offender who served six years in prison. West stated in an interview that he had warned other party members about King’s history when King was being considered for a GOP position. Following concerns raised by Republican activists earlier this year, the North Carolina Republican Party established a rule banning convicted sex offenders from holding party office.
The $2.3 million that Democratic groups have already spent on advertisements highlights Whatley’s ties to Harvey L. West Jr. North Carolina voters will see these campaign messages as they prepare to vote in November. The state requires King to remain on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life.
While the North Carolina GOP has moved to ban sex offenders from holding party office, the presence of such individuals at campaign rallies has become a point of contention. The next significant dates for this story are the November election day and upcoming filing deadlines for campaign finance reports.