Endorsement: What we think about Cal Cunningham and the U.S. Senate race

Two weeks ago, this editorial board was prepared to endorse Democrat Cal Cunningham in North Carolina’s 2020 U.S. Senate race. It wasn’t a particularly difficult recommendation to make given what we thought we knew about Cunningham — and what we certainly know about his opponent.

Time and again in his first Senate term, Thom Tillis has had a chance to stand up to President Donald Trump and speak up for the people of North Carolina. He has instead let them down. He allowed the president to bypass Congress — and threaten N.C. military projects — to fund a southern border wall. He’s refused to demand the president stop spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Most recently, he declined to rebuke Trump as he spread dangerous falsehoods about mail-in ballot fraud and called on supporters in North Carolina and elsewhere to watch the polls — a potential violation of election law.

None of which has changed in the past two weeks. Voters in North Carolina have an opportunity to ensure that if the president wins re-election, a Democratic senator will act as a check on his recklessness.

We hope that happens. But we’re not endorsing Cal Cunningham in this race.

Let’s be clear: We understand that the Democrat’s apparent affair, revealed in a series of sexual messages, is between him and his wife. But his lack of judgment during a race that could swing the balance of power in Washington, as well as his selfishness in taking this risk, should deeply trouble North Carolinians.

We’re especially concerned about Cunningham’s response to the revelations, which may offer a glimpse into the kind of senator he’d be. If elected, he’ll face his share of flammable issues and controversial votes he’ll need to explain. But in these past two weeks, he’s avoided questions about his behavior — whether it’s part of a pattern, how it conflicts with his military obligations, and if it involved any campaign funds. That’s not accountability. It’s political strategy.

How much should that matter? Voters will make their own calculations, of course, just as they always do when candidates have competing flaws. In this race, North Carolinians will weigh Cunningham’s shortcomings against another six years of Tillis, four of which could include a second Trump term. They will decide whether punishing Cunningham is worth giving another Republican license to attack the Affordable Care Act and support tax policies that benefit the wealthy and balloon the debt.

As for Republicans who believe that character and fidelity matter most, as Tillis and other Cunningham critics suddenly appear to think, let us introduce you to your president, Donald Trump.

On the issues, Cunningham certainly would be a more moderate senator than Tillis, a former N.C. House speaker. Cunningham, an attorney and former state senator, has resisted progressives in his party on issues such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. He disagrees with Democrats who want to expand the Supreme Court, and he has declared opposition to “defunding” the police, advocating instead for rewarding police departments that reform use-of-force policies.

So why don’t we just go ahead and endorse him? This board has long said that when we make recommendations in races, we’re not telling you how to vote. We’re telling you what we think of the people who want to represent you. In this race, both candidates have shortcomings — Tillis politically and Cunningham personally. Some members of the Editorial Board believe that we should recommend Cunningham - that his mistakes don’t merit voting for Tillis. Others believe that we’ve long called for public officials to live up to high standards of leadership, of choosing the people over political expediency, and that we shouldn’t abandon those standards for this endorsement.

Cal Cunningham may win this U.S. Senate election, and that may be best for North Carolina. But the Editorial Board was unable to reach a consensus on recommending him.

This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 12:00 AM.