Brad Knott on track to win Democratic NC House seat after primary

• Kelly Daughtry, a Johnston County attorney who finished first in the March 5 Republican primary for North Carolina’s 13th congressional district, has withdrawn from the runoff, effectively handing her opponent, Brad Knott, the party’s nomination for the seat.
• Daughtry suspended her campaign after Knott received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, noting on social media that “it has become clear that a pathway to victory is no longer feasible.”
• With the 13th district recently redrawn to heavily favor Republicans and force incumbent Democrat Wiley Nickel out of Congress, Knott is very likely to be elected its representative come November.

A candidate seeking the Republican nomination for a North Carolina congressional seat announced Thursday that she’s suspending her campaign, citing her rival’s endorsement by former President Donald Trump in their upcoming runoff.

Johnston County attorney Kelly Daughtry had finished first among 14 candidates in the March 5 Republican primary for the central North Carolina district. But she failed to get above the 30% of the vote needed to avoid a runoff. She and second-place finisher Brad Knott, a former federal prosecutor, had advanced to the scheduled May 14 runoff.

In a social media post, Daughtry said that with Trump’s formal backing of Knott last month “it has become clear that a pathway to victory is no longer feasible.”

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM ‘FIGHTING’ TO RETAIN HIS SEAT REJECTS GOP CHALLENGER’S CLAIM HE’S ‘BEHOLDEN’ TO BIDEN

“I believe in the democratic process and respect the endorsement of our President,” Daughtry added.

Knott also picked up the endorsement of third-place primary finisher Fred Von Canon.

“The time has now come to suspend my campaign,” Daughtry added. “Brad has my full endorsement, and I want him to know that I am here to support him, not to oppose him.”