Convicted Sex Offender's Prayer at Michael Whatley Campaign Event Sparks Scrutiny in North Carolina Senate Race

A recent campaign appearance by North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley has drawn intense scrutiny after a registered sex offender delivered the opening invocation. The development comes during the final stretch of an election that could ultimately determine the balance of power in the United States Senate.

The prayer was delivered by Pastor Daimon L. King during a gathering in coastal North Carolina. In his remarks, King called on God to grant honesty and integrity to the event while asking for divine intervention to correct perceived wrongs inflicted upon the conservative movement.

While such religious appeals are routine in the state's political arena, King’s presence immediately provoked controversy. Official court and state documentation indicate that the 60-year-old pastor is a registered sex offender who served two separate prison terms following criminal convictions involving children.

Decades prior to his involvement in local political circles, King worked as an assistant for a high school marching band in the Raleigh area. During that period roughly 30 years ago, he faced charges of statutory rape as well as indecent liberties.

The revelation lands just two months prior to the November election, where Whatley is locked in a high-stakes contest against the Democratic candidate, former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. The race is widely considered a pivotal battleground for determining which party secures a majority in the Senate.

The controversy directly challenges a core pillar of Whatley’s campaign strategy, which has frequently attempted to characterize Cooper as being soft on criminal justice issues. King’s public participation threatens to blunt those attacks and complicate the Republican nominee's central messaging.

Furthermore, the episode amplifies an ongoing blitz of political advertisements launched by Democrats. Those campaign ads have heavily focused on Whatley’s past ties to Harvey L. West Jr., another former Republican Party official who was convicted of sex offenses.

Whatley’s campaign team declined an interview request regarding the matter but moved quickly to distance the candidate from the pastor. Campaign spokesman DJ Griffin issued a statement asserting that Whatley was unacquainted with King and maintained no role in his selection.

Griffin explained that the campaign neither arranged nor coordinated the gathering, nor did it manage the guest list. He stated that the invitation to King had originated entirely with the event's local organizers, the Craven County Republican Party.

Representatives and party leadership for the Craven County GOP did not respond to inquiries for comment regarding the booking of the speaker. King likewise did not respond to messages seeking his perspective on the appearance.

The campaign stop took place on August 28 at the Craven County Republican Party headquarters situated in New Bern. Alongside Whatley, the event showcased Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television host currently serving in the Trump administration as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Following the rally, Whatley’s campaign shared video footage on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In the recording, King was positioned prominently in the background, nodding in approval and offering a double thumbs-up as Whatley and Oz delivered speeches condemning fraudulent practices within the medical sector.

King later praised the gathering in an enthusiastic message published to his church's Facebook page. Describing an atmosphere energized by patriotism, prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance, the pastor affirmed that both he and his congregation stood fully behind Whatley's candidacy.

In recent years, King has become a more visible figure in regional politics, serving as the leader of the New Beginnings Celebration church in New Bern. Operating as an outspoken pro-Trump Black conservative, he has previously served as a Craven County precinct chairman and frequently broadcasts sermons on YouTube where he challenges what he terms "fake news" and delivers his religious teachings.

The candidate at the center of the controversy, Whatley, previously led the North Carolina Republican Party beginning in 2019. In 2024, Donald Trump selected him to take over leadership of the Republican National Committee, a prominent position Whatley eventually departed to launch his Senate bid at the former president's encouragement.

Political analysts suggest that the incident could create friction among the party's conservative base. Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University who shares no relation to the Democratic candidate, noted that Whatley has already faced hurdles in fully uniting hard-right voters behind his campaign.

Cooper noted that deep-seated concerns within conservative circles regarding sexual abuse cases have heightened grassroots sensitivity to such issues. That internal pressure was previously evident when grassroots frustration surrounding the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case prompted Trump to sign transparency legislation mandating the release of records related to the deceased financier.

According to Cooper, Whatley's struggles to consolidate the far-right wing of the party could be deepened by repeated associations with convicted individuals, posing a strategic hurdle as the November vote nears.