The Republican candidate for North Carolina attorney general is taking aim at his opponent over an alleged friendship with a local LGBTQ leader and registered sex offender, which Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson denies.
Rep. Dan Bishop’s campaign is circulating an ad claiming that Jackson knew about Chad Turner’s criminal past and still decided to hug him at an awards ceremony. Turner is the president of the Carolina LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce and a registered sex offender who was charged in 1998 with “committing or attempting to commit a lewd act against a child under 16 years of age” when he was 20 years old, The Charlotte reported Observer before. Jackson’s campaign said he has no relationship with Turner and was not aware of his criminal history.
The ad, which has caused spikes in Google search traffic across the state, stems from a video of Jackson accepting an award for “advancing equality” at an event hosted by the LGBT+ Chamber in 2022. Jackson is shown hugging Turner as he accepts the award. . Other event participants and award winners include NASCAR, Ally Bank and Avita Pharmacy.
“Representative. Jackson, along with NASCAR and other companies, received an award from a local chamber of commerce for supporting small businesses,” a spokesperson for Jackson’s campaign said in a statement to the Observer. “The Chamber of Commerce staff member who presented the award had a serious criminal background of which Rep. Jackson was unaware.”
Turner resigned from the role in 2016 after coming under fire from a conservative group when he advocated expanding Charlotte’s nondiscrimination ordinance. Turner rejoined the LGBT+ Chamber as president and CEO in 2020, according to his LinkedIn page and the organization’s website.
Last year, the city was criticized by a conservative group after appointing Turner to the city’s business advisory committee, Queen City News first reported.
What Chad Turner’s ad shows
Bishop’s campaign declined to comment on the allegations or provide details of spending on the ad, which is based on reporting from The Daily Wire, a national conservative publication.
The ad shows several women reacting to a video of Jackson receiving the award. The women then say that they cannot trust Jackson to be around children.
“Child molester Chad Turner became one of Charlotte’s most notorious sex offenders. A few years later, Jeff Jackson accepted an award from and hugged Chad Turner,” a narrator says during the ad. “Everyone knew this man.”
Jackson’s campaign said the ad is misleading, and Jackson knew nothing of Turner’s criminal background when he addressed the chamber.
“Bishop used a deceptively edited video to deliberately mislead the public about what actually happened and to distract from his extreme record,” a spokesperson said. “The bishop’s conduct is clearly unethical and should be viewed as disqualifying for anyone seeking to hold a position of trust and authority.”
