“A difference of opinion between former President Donald Trump and some activist North Carolina Republicans was highlighted when Senate candidate Mark Walker (R) told guests at a GOP luncheon that Trump’s former chief of staff engineered Trump’s surprise endorsement seven days prior of another candidate, Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC),” the Fayetteville Observer reports.

Said Walker: “Ah — my first thought — it was that Mark Meadows had orchestrated this whole event…”

“Walker accused Meadows of not telling Trump that Walker led a straw poll of Republican delegates earlier that day for the GOP 2022 Senate nomination.”

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) said he was “disappointed” in Donald Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd (R) for U.S. Senate, calling the congressman “a Washington insider who has done more to oppose the Trump agenda than anyone in the race,” the Charlotte Observer reports.

Said McCrory: “The president got some bad advice and you could tell by the immediate reaction of the audience, which was no reaction to the individual he endorsed. They selected a Washington insider and I assume a Washington insider around the president made this very poor decision.”

“Former president Donald Trump jumped into a competitive Senate primary on Saturday night in North Carolina, endorsing Rep. Ted Budd for a hotly contested seat in the 2022 election,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump’s surprise endorsement — which he said he told the congressman about 15 minutes before taking the stage at a convention center here — came minutes after his daughter-in-law Lara Trump said she was not going to be running for the seat in North Carolina.”

Politico: “Trump’s endorsement is a major boost for Budd, who is running against former Gov. Pat McCrory and former Rep. Mark Walker in the Senate primary.”

Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) announced he’ll run for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

His announcement video features two monster trucks running over the “liberal agenda.”

Later, he describes how he will prevent America from becoming a “woke socialist wasteland.” After saying this, Budd is offered an assault weapon by a man in sunglasses. Budd declines it, saying “we can skip the shooting part, I own a gun store.”

Cheri Beasley (D), the first Black woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, announced she will run for U.S. Senate from North Carolina, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Beasley narrowly lost her 2020 election for chief justice by 401 votes to fellow Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby.

This is a pretty big recruitment for Senate Democrats.

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s (R) career in politics is not over, the Charlotte Observer reports.

“McCrory, a Republican who served one term as the state’s chief executive and 14 years as Charlotte’s mayor, has launched a campaign website announcing his run for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2022.”

“Pat McCrory, the former Republican governor of North Carolina, is planning to launch his campaign for the state’s open Senate seat this week,” Politico reports.

“The former governor, who won the office in 2012 and lost reelection in 2016, would begin the primary in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr as an early frontrunner.”

If Lara Trump expects to run, she’ll likely need the full endorsement of her father-in-law to leapfrog the increasingly crowded GOP field.

“With Lara Trump still on the sidelines and landing a new gig on Fox News, Republican candidates are preparing to move on without her,” the Raleigh News and Observer reports.

“Three-term U.S. Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is now ‘leaning towards’ running for the Senate seat — an indication that Trump may not enter the race for several months or at all.”

Said Club for Growth President David McIntosh, “It would be best if they weren’t both running.”

A new Meredith College survey finds Lara Trump leading in the Republican primary for the open U.S. Senate seat with 27%, followed by Pat McCrory at 17%, Mark Walker at 7% and Ted Budd at 6%.

On the Democratic side, no candidate polls above 13%.

“Sen. Thom Tillis would have lost his 2020 reelection bid in North Carolina if it weren’t for revelations of an extramarital affair by his highly touted Democratic opponent, the senator’s pollster said,” the Washington Examiner reports.

Pollster Glen Borger said two things particularly worked against Cal Cunningham: “One is, it connected him to John Edwards — young, smart, lawyer, handsome. Not the family man you think he is. And then secondly, his whole story, essentially, was a lie.”

Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley “is expected to officially announce her candidacy in the next few weeks,” the Raleigh News and Observer reports.

“Bealsey lost a close election for chief justice in 2020, losing to Republican Paul Newby by 401 votes. It was the third statewide election for Beasley, who won a seat on the court of appeals in 2008. She was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2012 and then won her seat in 2014.”

“A lifelong Republican’s decision to change party affiliations following the Capitol riot has evolved into a run for U.S. Senate,” the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Said Kimrey Rhinehardt: “I felt like I had no political home. I think I’m on a mission to create one. Not just for me but people who feel the same that I do.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted Lara Trump will benefit from his second acquittal in an impeachment trial this weekend, The Hill reports.

Said Graham: “The biggest winner of this whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump. My dear friend Richard Burr, who I like and have been friends to a long time, just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs, and I certainly will be behind her because she represents the future of the Republican Party.”

Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who has served just over a month in Congress, is already jumping into the N.C. Senate primary race to endorse Mark Walker (R), Politico reports.

“The endorsement announcement comes as former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is strongly weighing his own Senate bid, which would make him a strong competitor for a seat that is a must-win for the GOP.”

“The 2022 US Senate race in North Carolina could provide an early test of whether the Republican Party will continue to embrace President Donald Trump after his loss, potentially featuring Lara Trump, the President’s daughter-in-law, against a field of current and former Republican officials unwilling to step aside,” Politico reports.

“Her public interest in the seat has not scared off a number of Senate Republican aspirants, who are driven in part by the alluring prospect of running for an open seat in the first midterm election of a Democratic president, which usually favors the opposing party.”

Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) announce he’ll run for the Senate in a race that may end up becoming the most hotly contested and expensive Senate battle in the 2022 midterm elections, Fox News reports.

“Walker is the first candidate to launch a campaign in the race to succeed retiring three-term Republican Sen. Richard Burr. But it’s doubtful he’ll be the only Republican to declare his or her candidacy. The president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is mulling a bid for the Senate in the state where she was born and raised.”