North Carolina GOP Senate Candidate Faces Scrutiny After Convicted Sex Offender Delivers Rally Prayer

A campaign appearance by North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley has drawn sharp scrutiny after a convicted sex offender was chosen to deliver the opening prayer. The incident has injected fresh controversy into one of the country's most fiercely contested legislative races just weeks before voters head to the polls.

Pastor Daimon L. King began the political event by asking God to grant "integrity and honesty" to those gathered. During the invocation, King also called for the righting of wrongs that he claimed had been unjustly inflicted upon the conservative movement.

While religious invocations are standard practice across the state's political landscape, King's participation quickly attracted attention due to his criminal background. State and court documentation indicates that the 60-year-old minister is a registered sex offender who has served two prison sentences stemming from convictions involving children.

The controversy unfolds with approximately two months remaining before the November midterm elections. The North Carolina race, pitting Whatley against Democratic nominee and former Gov. Roy Cooper, is widely viewed as a pivotal contest that could determine which party holds majority control of the U.S. Senate.

The development poses a direct challenge to Whatley's overarching campaign narrative. The Republican candidate has consistently sought to portray Cooper as soft on crime, a message that now faces potential dilution due to the presence of a convicted offender sharing the platform at a party function.

The event could also provide new material for an aggressive advertising blitz launched by Democratic groups. Those campaigns have previously targeted Whatley over his past connections to Harvey L. West Jr., a former Republican official who is also a convicted sex offender.

King did not provide a response to inquiries seeking comment on the matter. Whatley's campaign similarly declined requests to make the candidate available for an interview, instead issuing a formal statement through campaign spokesman DJ Griffin.

Griffin maintained that Whatley had no prior relationship with King and stated that the campaign did not plan, organize, or manage the guest list for the gathering. The spokesman pointed out that King had been invited directly by the event's hosts, the Craven County Republican Party. Representatives for the local county party could not be reached for comment.

Whatley previously served as the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party starting in 2019 before Donald Trump selected him in 2024 to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee. Whatley subsequently stepped down from his national party leadership role at Trump's prompting to launch his campaign for the Senate.

Chris Cooper, a professor of political science at Western Carolina University who is not related to Whatley's opponent, observed that King's prayer, coupled with the scrutiny over West, presents serious hurdles for Whatley's outreach to hard-right voters.

The political analyst noted that intense focus within Trump's base regarding the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy—which eventually led to federal legislation authorizing the release of case records—has heightened sensitivities regarding sex crimes among conservative voters. Cooper stated that the far right has not fully unified behind Whatley, and events of this nature could widen that gap.

The gathering occurred on August 28 at the Craven County Republican Party headquarters in the coastal town of New Bern. In addition to Whatley, the event featured Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television host who now serves as the Trump administration's administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In recent years, King has developed a prominent public profile in local conservative politics. In addition to serving as the leader of New Beginnings Celebration church in New Bern, he has acted as a Craven County GOP precinct chairman. Presenting himself as a pro-Trump Black conservative, King has published sermons online attacking mainstream news outlets and proclaiming what he describes as the "pure, uncut word of God."

King was visibly present in promotional footage distributed by Whatley's campaign on social media following the stop. As Whatley and Oz spoke to the audience regarding efforts to combat fraud in the healthcare sector, King stood directly behind them, nodding along and displaying a double thumbs-up.

The following day, King published a post in his church's Facebook group commending the event's patriotic atmosphere and its inclusion of the Pledge of Allegiance. In the post, King affirmed that he and his congregation were fully unified in their support of Whatley's senatorial bid.

Court records indicate King's criminal history began roughly three decades ago while working as a high school marching band assistant outside Raleigh. At that time, King faced charges of statutory rape and committing indecent liberties with a minor, proceedings that ultimately led to his prison terms and subsequent registry status.