Whatley, a veteran GOP campaign operative who served in the administration of President George W. Bush, is reported to have won Trump’s support because he backs Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread voter fraud. Whatley spoke at a 2022 conference organized by the North Carolina Election Integrity Team, the group’s founder, Jim Womack, told States Newsroom. The North Carolina Republican Party declined to comment about Whatley’s work with NCEIT. Womack, who ran unsuccessfully against Whatley for state party chair in 2019, said that after Whatley’s appearance at the summit, the relationship fizzled, as Whatley kept NCEIT at arm’s length from the state party. Still, under Whatley, the state party in 2021 unveiled a 16-member “Election Integrity Committee” to push for tighter voting rules and recruit poll watchers.

Source: New York Times February 12, 2024 23:36 UTC