Leaving It Blank: ‘Harvey West’ creating new headaches for top two on NCGOP’s 2026 ticket
Like a lot of political junkies, I keep close tabs on what’s happening on-the-ground with this year’s early voting. Something I’ve heard from operatives in five different counties ought to have everyone supporting the NCGOP ticket this year concerned.
I’m hearing the same report from all five areas, but THIS quote from one local operative at the polls pretty well sums it up:
“We’ve got a significant number of voters leaving the polls telling us they left their ballots blank for US Senate and Supreme Court because they understand Mike Whatley and Sarah Stevens are pedophiles and support pedophiles.”
For the record, neither I nor anyone affiliated with this website believes that allegation about Stevens or Whatley.
But the problem is — It’s OUT THERE. Two weeks in front of the election. I know that at least two county party organizations had meetings today about combating this nasty rumor.
Where does it come from? What is the basis for it?
I have had daily mailers in my mailbox talking about Sarah Stevens – the GOP candidate for Supreme Court – as a pal of convicted sex offender Harvey West and a defender of sex offenders. Stevens is an attorney and sometimes attorneys have to defend people charged with bad things. Just because you’re charged with it doesn’t mean you did it. The mailers are all produced by entities promoting the reelection of justice Anita Earls (D).
We’ve all seen some pretty extensive reporting about West as a NCGOP district leader and Whatley as NCGOP chairman. I haven’t seen any evidence of Whatley or West doing anything criminal in connection with their party work.
But, two weeks in front of the election. Right in the middle of early voting. It seems like the mud-slinging mailers for Earls have worked. Folks who would likely have voted for Stevens are reportedly leaving their ballots blank. And we’re still talking about Harvey West in the Senate race.
WHERE are the political pros supposedly managing these top-level Republican campaigns? They have a potential disaster on their hands here with all of this leaving-it-blank activity. I don’t see Whatley or Stevens being able to afford even one blank ballot from a GOP voter.
The NCGOP apparently has yet to learn a very important lesson: Those entrusted with positions of leadership and influence within the Republican Party must be held to a higher standard.
A conviction involving sexual offenses against children should be an absolute disqualification from holding party office or exercising positions of influence within the party. Period.
Forgiveness and redemption are important principles, but forgiveness does not automatically restore someone to a position of public trust. There is a difference between extending grace to an individual and entrusting that individual with political leadership.
The Republican Party frequently speaks about family values, protecting children, personal responsibility, and moral integrity. Those principles must mean something beyond campaign slogans. We cannot demand accountability from our political opponents while making exceptions within our own ranks.
What troubles me most is that situations like this are allowed to continue until they become political liabilities. The standard should never be whether someone’s past becomes an embarrassment during an election. The standard should be whether that person should have been placed in a position of trust in the first place.
The NCGOP cannot credibly demand higher standards from government officials if it refuses to consistently enforce those same standards within its own organization.
Integrity begins at home, and accountability must begin long before the next election.