Despite her history, some in GOP now lining up to support Michele Morrow to lead schools

Some Republican fundraisers and elected officials are now lining up to support Michele Morrow’s run to lead North Carolina’s public schools, despite her history of controversial social media posts.

Two of North Carolina’s top Republican donors — developer John Kane and businessman Bob Luddy — are hosting a fundraiser Wednesday for Morrow at Kane’s home in Raleigh.

Also on Wednesday, state House Speaker Tim Moore said he’d support Morrow in her campaign to become the new superintendent of public instruction. The state’s Republican leadership had endorsed incumbent Superintendent Catherine Truitt in her unsuccessful re-election bid against Morrow in the March primary.

The race has drawn national attention because of coverage of Morrow’s past social media posts where she talked about killing Democrats such as President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama.

“She is becoming normalized through these endorsements, through these fundraisers,” David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College and director of the Meredith Poll, said in an interview Wednesday. “She is moving from being viewed as an extremist to someone who is a flag bearer for the Republican Party.”

Race gains national attention

Morrow is a registered nurse, conservative activist and homeschool parent. She is a Donald Trump supporter who protested outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She said she did not enter the Capitol that day.

Morrow is running against Democrat Mo Green, who is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools. Green is also the former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a group that funds progressive causes.

Morrow has received national attention since CNN reported on her past social media posts, including those that talked about killing Obama, President Joe Biden, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and other Democrats.

“I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,” Morrow, the candidate, wrote in a tweet from May 2020, responding to a user sharing a conspiracy theory who suggested sending Obama to prison at Guantanamo Bay. “I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.”

Morrow has deleted the social media accounts cited by CNN. She has accused the media of “trying to create ‘gotcha moments’ out of old comments taken out of context, made in jest, or never made in the first place.”

‘I’m a good loyal fellow Republican’

Republican House Speaker Moore told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks the comments he’s seen from Morrow “are not appropriate at all. And I’m not gonna condone comments like that. I know she has explained some of those. But my plan is to support all the Republican nominees for office and, you know, voters have to make up their own mind on that.”

Moore reiterated that he “certainly wouldn’t have made those comments and I’ll stand by my comments, and comment on mine and not delve into other folks’ races. But, you know, I’m a good loyal fellow Republican. I’m gonna vote for the Republican nominees for office.”

Moore had endorsed Truitt in the primary.

”Here’s the deal. You have folks that go through a party process: They get a nomination by our party, they are our candidates at that point. And I think anyone who gets nominated for office, you know, has to be in a position where, if they’ve made comments in the past or during the campaign or whatever — they offer up whatever explanation there is. And that’s ultimately up to the voters,” Moore said.

McLennan, the political science professor, said he expects most Republican state legislators and congressional members to support Morrow.

An exception is U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who has publicly said he won’t endorse Morrow. During the primary, Morrow had used Tillis’ endorsement of Truitt as a campaign issue.

Big GOP donors supporting Morrow

During the GOP primary, most of the financial support went to Truitt. An exception was Bob Luddy, who had given Morrow $6,000.

Luddy is the the founder and chairman of the Raleigh-based CaptiveAire Systems. He founded the Thales Academy network of private schools and Franklin Academy, a charter school in Wake Forest.

Kane is a prominent Raleigh developer who is most known locally for revitalizing the North Hills area.

Neither Kane or Luddy immediately returned requests for comments Wednesday from The News & Observer about the fundraiser. But Luddy told WUNC, which first reported about the fundraiser, that he’s not concerned by her social media posts because “I think it was a spoof.”

“Michele Morrow is a home school mother with a deep understanding of K-12 education,” Luddy told WUNC in an email. “She will return NC public schools to the basics such as making sure all students can read by the end of third grade. She will also make civility and respect imperative.”

‘This is why partisanship exists’

McLennan said any criticism for the fundraiser isn’t likely going to hurt the businesses of Kane or Luddy.

“The big name Republican donors like Luddy and Kane can’t be hurt by supporting Morrow,” McLennan said. “ I always assumed they’d join the team and other big donors will come back.”

McLennan said the financial support will lend credibility to Morrow’s campaign. He said it will also provide the funds for her campaign against Green, who held a big monetary lead over his opponents in the Democratic primary.

“This is why partisanship exists,” McLennan said. “They’d rather have a controversial Michele Morrow as superintendent of public instruction than a Democrat.”