Democrat Cheri Beasley urges fellow Democrats to elect their party’s candidates in the November elections | Politics

“When we stand for truth and justice, we always win,” Beasley said. “There is a sense of urgency.”

Beasley, 56, was the keynote speaker Saturday during a fundraising event for the Forsyth County Democratic Party.

Nearly 400 people attended the event, which was held at the Legacy Stables and Events center in southeastern Forsyth County. The audience included local Democratic elected officials and Democratic candidates running for local and statewide offices.

Beasley is running against U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, R-13th, who lives in Advance, to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Beasley and Budd are vying for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., a Winston-Salem native.

If she is elected, Beasley will be the first Black woman from North Carolina to serve as a U.S. senator.

Beasley is the second prominent African American politician to visit Winston-Salem in the past five weeks.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Spears, a Republican, delivered the keynote speech July 9 at the Forsyth County Republican Party’s fundraising event. That gathering also was held at the Legacy Stables and Events center.

From 2019 to 2020, Beasley served as the chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court. Beasley had previously served on the N.C. Court of Appeals and a district court judge in Cumberland County.

During her speech, Beasley criticized Budd who has voted against Democratic President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda, such as the infrastructure legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act.

“He doesn’t speak for us,” Beasley said. “This Budd is not for you.”

Beasley, an abortion rights supporter, also criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for recently overturning the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision that provided women a constitutional right to obtain an abortion.

“It’s a constitutional right,” Beasley said of reproductive freedom for women. “It’s a constitutional right that has been taken away.

“North Carolinians must come together and stand for what’s right,” Beasley said.

High costs for prescription drugs and health care aren’t partisan issues, Beasley said. People should have access to affordable health care, she said.

“Let’s not be distracted by those who want to tear us down,” Beasley said.

Beasley said she expects it will be a difficult campaign for her to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

“We won’t back down now,” Beasley said.

Before her speech, Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said that Beasley will be the next U.S. senator from North Carolina.

Joines then urged the event’s attendees to elect more Democratic legislators to the N.C. General Assembly to ensure that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has enough votes to maintain his expected veto of any Republican sponsored bans on abortions statewide.

“We have always been the party of hope,” Joines said to the audience. “Our cause has been the cause of the common man and the common woman.”

In an interview before Beasley’s speech, former State Rep. Ed Hanes, D-Forsyth, said he believes that Beasley has a great chance to win the Senate seat.

“Cheri brings a new energy to the table,” Hanes said. “She’s attacking issues that people want her to take care of.”

Judge Fred Adams of Forsyth District Court said that Beasley also has a strong chance of winning her election.

“I think she is a woman of high values, commitments and integrity,” Adams said. “She’s hard working, and she has served North Carolina in many capacities.”