Boebert to headline NC conservative gathering, as Trump, Greene also visit the state

A conservative gathering this month in Charlotte will feature U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and other Republicans.

Boebert will attend the Salt & Light Conference in person as a keynote speaker, said Jim Quick, the grassroots director for the North Carolina Faith & Freedom Coalition.

The coalition, which is running the annual conference, is affiliated with the national Faith & Freedom Coalition, a conservative and religious grassroots organization.

Boebert has pushed for a religious takeover of the United States and spread falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election, The Denver Post reported.

Robinson has made headlines for disparaging LGBTQ people and for, in his new book, calling for the elimination of science and history from the first through fifth-grade curriculum, which he later partially backed away from.

The event runs from Sept. 23 to 24 in the northeast suburbs of Charlotte.

“We’re almost sold out. But we do have a limited number of tickets remaining for the conference,” Quick said.

Other upcoming events will draw nationally known Republicans to North Carolina at around the same time. Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally in Wilmington on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Ted Budd. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the controversial Georgia Republican, will headline the Wake County Republican Party’s Roaring Twenties-themed gala. Both are set for Sept. 23.

It’s unclear which Republicans may attend the Wake County gala. Wake GOP Chair Donna Williams said she doesn’t know which Republican political candidates will be attending, but said that all had been invited. Following the announcement of Greene’s attendance, she said, “ticket sales have gone through the roof.” But, “a lot of the elected officials and candidates, they’re going different places,” Williams said.

One Wake County Republican who will not attend the gala: Bo Hines, according to Rob Burgess, his senior election adviser. Hines, the GOP candidate for U.S. House in the 13th Congressional District, will join Trump in Wilmington.

“Bo will be at the Trump Rally that evening and won’t be able to attend. However, he is thankful to the numerous Republican Members of Congress who are supporting his candidacy and are willing to assist in fundraising to secure this vital seat in 2022,” Burgess wrote in a statement to The News & Observer.

Hines and Boebert have created a joint fundraising committee, according to a statement of organization filed with the Federal Election Commission. The filing, signed last month, represents a commitment between Hines and Boebert to raise campaign money together.

Burgess did not answer questions regarding the filing sent by The N&O via email, and Hines did not return a voicemail message.

Marjorie Taylor Greene at Wake gala

Williams, asked by The N&O if she had any concerns that having Greene headline the gala might push some moderate voters away from Republicans, said, “you always have people who are happy and always have people who are not, that is just life. That’s the way people are, there’s nothing that anybody could ever do that would please the entire population.”

She said the Wake GOP was “financially ahead of where we were last year; we are not worried.”

Brent Woodcox, a legislative attorney for N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger, criticized the decision on Twitter: “I wonder why @wakegop never wins anything anymore. A convention of willingly duped morons and easy marks for grifters and con men,” Woodcox wrote. “The institutional Republican Party is worthless and actively makes it harder for conservatives to achieve meaningful political victories.”

Several Wake County Republican candidates said they did not plan to attend the gala:

▪ John Harris of Apex, running for state House District 36 in southern Wake County, said he would instead be at the Apex Friendship Holly Springs football game. Of the gala, he said he was focused “on trying to meet voters in and around my district and support things that are going on down here in southern Wake County.”

▪ Sheriff candidate Donnie Harrison said he had other plans, and that he was busy and focused on his campaign.

▪ State Rep. Erin Paré, who is the only Republican who represents Wake County in the state legislature, did not reply to a call and voicemail to her office in time for this article, but WRAL reported she will not attend as she has plans with her family.

The gala will take place at the Carolina Ballroom at Embassy Suites in Cary. It runs from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.

This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 6:20 PM.