North Carolina GOP Senate Candidate Faces Scrutiny After Convicted Sex Offender Leads Campaign Prayer

A recent campaign appearance by North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley has come under intense scrutiny after an opening invocation was delivered by a pastor who is a registered sex offender with past prison sentences for crimes against children.

The gathering featured an opening prayer led by Pastor Daimon L. King, who asked God to grant the assembly honesty and integrity while seeking divine intervention against adversities that have targeted the broader conservative movement.

While religious invocations are standard fare at North Carolina political events, King’s presence immediately drew alarm due to his criminal background. State and judicial records confirm that the 60-year-old minister is a registered sex offender who has served two separate prison terms related to offenses involving minors.

King’s past legal troubles date back roughly three decades, when he worked as a high school marching band assistant near Raleigh and faced charges that included statutory rape and indecent liberties.

The revelation emerges during a critical juncture in the competitive North Carolina Senate contest, with just two months remaining before the November vote. The high-stakes race against Democratic candidate and former Governor Roy Cooper is viewed nationally as pivotal in determining which political party will hold the majority in the U.S. Senate.

The incident poses a direct threat to Whatley’s core campaign messaging, which has heavily emphasized law-and-order themes and repeatedly criticized Cooper as being soft on criminal justice matters.

Furthermore, the episode creates fresh political vulnerability for Whatley as Democrats continue to air campaign advertisements highlighting the Republican nominee’s past associations with Harvey L. West Jr., another former Republican official who is a convicted sex offender.

In response to questions regarding the invocation, Whatley’s campaign declined an interview request but issued a statement attempting to distance the candidate from the pastor. Campaign spokesman DJ Griffin maintained that Whatley did not know King, stressing that the campaign did not plan the event, organize the proceedings, or compile the invitation list.

Griffin noted that King had been invited by the event’s local hosts, the Craven County Republican Party. Leadership from the county party organization could not be reached to provide comment regarding the speaker selection.

King has established an active presence within regional conservative circles, serving as the leader of the New Beginnings Celebration church in coastal New Bern, North Carolina, and working as a precinct chairman within the Craven County GOP. Presenting himself as a pro-Trump Black conservative, King has frequently shared sermons on YouTube that attack mainstream media as "fake news" and preach what he characterizes as the pure word of God.

The Aug. 28 campaign stop took place at the Craven County Republican Party headquarters and featured Whatley alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former television host who serves as Donald Trump’s administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

King’s participation extended beyond the introductory prayer. Video footage shared on the social media platform X by Whatley’s own campaign shows King standing visibly behind Whatley and Oz as the two men spoke against fraudulent practices within the healthcare system, with the pastor nodding in agreement and flashing double thumbs-up gestures to the crowd.

Following the rally, King praised the gathering in a post on his church’s Facebook page, writing that the atmosphere was filled with patriotism and prayer during the Pledge of Allegiance. He also declared that he and his congregation were fully unified in their support of Whatley’s senatorial bid.

Political analysts warn that the situation could hinder Whatley’s standing among key voting blocs. Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University who is not related to the Democratic candidate, noted that the candidate is already navigating delicate dynamics with the hard right.

The expert observed that heightened public attention around prominent sex offenses—exemplified by grassroots conservative pressure on Trump regarding the release of Jeffrey Epstein files—has made the party’s base particularly sensitive to such controversies. According to Cooper, because the far right has not yet fully united behind Whatley, these revelations threaten to deepen existing divisions.

Whatley previously directed the North Carolina Republican Party beginning in 2019 before Trump tapped him to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2024. He later vacated that national leadership position at Trump's personal urging in order to enter the competitive North Carolina Senate contest.