New NCGOP spokesman spread Trump election misinformation, revealing a party conflicted
North Carolina’s state Republican Party has hired as its new communications director the editor of a right-wing news website who spread election misinformation, downplayed the seriousness of the Jan. 6 riot in Washington and called President Joe Biden’s election win “suspect.”
The hiring of Jeff Moore as the party’s top spokesman highlights a division among Republicans. Top party officials, like those who appointed Moore, see the benefit of appealing to former President Donald Trump’s supporters. State legislative leaders, however, have frequently sidestepped questions or tamped down debates over Trump’s false election conspiracy theories and other hot-button issues, like vaccine mandates, that have animated his populist base.
As editor in chief of the news website First in Freedom Daily, Moore wrote favorably about a report on Michigan voting machines that has since been deemed false and said election results were “tainted and fraudulent,” in contrast to Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr declaring there was no widespread fraud.
He promoted a story from another outlet saying communists are trying to turn North Carolina into a “vassal of the Chinese Communist Party” with scant evidence for such a claim. And after traveling to Washington on Jan. 6, Moore said the majority of people who invaded the Capitol “merely strolled through unimpeded.” Authorities have charged more than 600 people with participating in the riot.
The dissonance between Moore’s writings and how elected Republican leaders discuss the former president’s views reflects a debate playing out across the country about the party’s future. Locally, the dispute is at the heart of the Republican primary race for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat. The outcome of that race, which is just four months away, may determine the balance of power in Washington.
Keeping grassroots ‘fired up’
In that race, former Gov. Pat McCrory has kept a degree of separation from the former president. His opponent, U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, has challenged the results of the 2020 election and is endorsed by Trump.
McCrory advisor Paul Shumaker released a memo in June saying a Trump endorsement might actually hurt a Republican’s chances in the general election, the Charlotte Observer reported. Asked about Moore’s hiring, Budd adviser Jonathan Felts praised the head of the state party, Michael Whatley, for his efforts to reach out to Trump voters.
“The reality is, a lot of folks in our party still feel very strongly about what Donald Trump tried to achieve, or what he did achieve,” Felts said. “From my perspective, the chairman is doing what he needs to do in terms of keeping our grassroots fired up, keeping our donors fired up.”
Republicans contacted by The News & Observer were largely hesitant to speak about Moore’s hiring. Nearly all declined to comment on the matter.
“It is a little concerning that the Republican Party has appointed somebody who has questioned the legitimacy of the election,” said Meredith College political science professor Whitney Manzo. “The fact that the North Carolina GOP has appointed this person is kind of a show that they also hold that position, or at least they’re fine with employees holding that position.”
Moore declined to comment on his personal views and did not respond to a request for comment on behalf of the party.
In a statement announcing his hiring in mid-October, Whatley praised Moore’s talent. Moore previously worked as a reporter and contributor to the North State Journal and Carolina Journal, both conservative media outlets.
“Jeff will be a strong voice for the Republican principles embraced here in North Carolina,” Whatley said at the time.
The position of party spokesperson is rarely the focus of attention. But with intraparty differences in opinion over whether to avoid Trump or embrace him, Moore will speak for Republicans who don’t always agree on what the party should say.
Election outcomes
State Republicans have struggled in recent weeks to come up with a cohesive strategy on how to discuss the outcome of the 2020 election and its legitimacy.
At a press conference in October, several state House Republicans announced plans to inspect voting machines in Durham County, citing “many, many millions of accusations” of “computer tampering, machine tampering, of votes being switched.” One lawmaker, Rep. Larry Pittman, of Concord, said he did not believe Biden’s election was legitimate, WRAL reported.
Two other lawmakers, Rep. Jeff McNeely, of Stony Point, and Rep. Bobby Hanig, of Powells Point, said they were unsure of whether the president was duly elected.
House Speaker Tim Moore declined to add fuel to that fire. He cut off a House floor debate on the issue and declined to comment further on the matter, according to WRAL, though he attended a “Stop the Steal” campaign event with another lawmaker, Rep. Kelly Hastings, of Cherryville, shortly after the 2020 election.
The lawmakers at the helm of the press conference have also since backed down. McNeely later said he would simply drive by the building where the Durham County Board of Elections keeps its voting machines to see for himself whether the machines were secure, WRAL reported.
As one of two conservative state legislative leaders, Tim Moore sets the tone for debate on some issues and plays a role in deciding which House Republicans’ voices and opinions are elevated.
Party officials, lawmakers
Days after that press conference, news reports alleged that two House Republicans were registered as Oath Keepers, an extremist anti-government group whose members allegedly participated in the Capitol riot. One of the lawmakers declined to comment on the allegation, according to news reports. The other lawmaker acknowledged that he’s been a registered member of the group since 2014. Many Republicans didn’t respond to those reports.
Also in October, the Gaston County Republican Party appointed Rep. Donnie Loftis to replace the late Rep. Dana Bumgardner, a Republican from Gastonia, in the state House. Loftis protested in Washington on Jan. 6 and stood near the entrance of the U.S. Capitol when insurrectionists breached the building, WRAL reported. In protest of Loftis’ seating Monday night, House Democrats walked out of session.
When news initially broke that Loftis participated in Jan. 6 protests, Tim Moore declined to comment. Monday night, however, he told WRAL that Loftis is a “good man” and that if he’d done anything illegal that day, “we’d have heard it by now.”
The contrast between how party officials and lawmakers handle issues like these is reflective of the different groups of people they serve.
“Party leadership is more reactive to its base — the grassroots activists — than elected officials,” said Republican political operative Charles Hellwig.
That’s in part because the state and county Republican Party chairs, who help determine who to appoint when a state legislative seat is vacant, are elected by grassroots Republicans actively involved in local politics, Hellwig said. Lawmakers are elected by a more diverse group of voters.
U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has also drawn national attention for speaking at the “Save America” rally on Jan. 6 — which he allegedly helped plan, according to a report from Rolling Stone — before the Capitol was breached. Cawthorn tried to distance himself from the events of Jan. 6 and said Trump made a “major mistake,” drawing the criticism of Jeff Moore.
“Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) is bowing to the sanctioned narrative and blaming Trump for ‘directing the crowd to the Capitol,’” Jeff Moore wrote.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "New NCGOP spokesman spread Trump election misinformation, revealing a party conflicted."
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the month in which former Gov. Pat McCrory’s adviser released a memo saying Trump’s endorsement might actually hurt a Republican’s chances in the general election.
