Much of the media focus as far as North Carolina races go has been on the presidential match-up between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris as well as the gubernatorial race between Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) and Attorney General Josh Stein (D).

But another one has heated up in recent weeks thanks in part to a defamation lawsuit recently filed by the Republican candidate and a troubling 2022 video of the Democrat candidate that surfaced on social media this week.

Because Stein is running for governor, the attorney general's office is up for grabs. Rep. Dan Bishop is the Republican nominee in that race, while Rep. Jeff Jackson is the Democrat nominee. Both previously served in the North Carolina state legislature, with Bishop having served in both the state house and senate at various points and Jackson serving in the state senate.

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On Thursday, a clip of Jackson seen hugging a registered sex offender and local LGBTQ leader during a December 2022 event where Jackson was given an award by a group the man in question reportedly had a leadership role in was shared on the Twitter/X machine:

The Daily Wire's Mary Margaret Olohan shared more about the event involving Jackson, otherwise known as the "Tik Tok Congressman" for his large TikTok following, in a report filed earlier:

Footage of the December 13, 2022 Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce event shows Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC) praising the work of LGBTQ activists on stage before embracing Chad Turner, a registered sex offender and CEO of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Turner, who has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Daily Wire, was charged with three cases of lewd acts on minors under the age of 16.

“You are an enormously influential, and positive force for this city, for the people who live here, I’m so grateful for you,” Jackson told the assembled crowd, after the chamber awarded him the “Advancing Equity Award.”

Turner became infamous in Charlotte back in 2016 for all the wrong reasons while at the helm of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber after championing a controversial Dem-led Charlotte City Council ordinance that allowed men who identified as women and vice versa to use the restrooms/fitting rooms of their choice. 

Once his past as a registered, convicted sex offender was revealed he purportedly stepped down from the Chamber:

The head of the Charlotte LGBT Chamber stepped down after his sex offender past came to light.

Chad Sevearance-Turner was once a youth minister who was found guilty of fondling a teenage boy in 1998.
Turner moved to North Carolina and became an active member of the LGBT Chamber, fighting for equal rights.

As Olohan noted, though, Turner's so-called resignation seemed to be more about smoke and mirrors:

But Turner’s resignation appears to have been a media ploy at best, and an outright lie at worst. The Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce still lists him as its president and CEO, and his LinkedIn profile states that he served as the Charlotte LGBT Chamber of Commerce president from January 2013 to December 2020, and as its chief executive officer from December 2020 to present.

Incidentally, that Charlotte ordinance Turner backed was the basis for HB2, otherwise known as the "bathroom bill," which Bishop co-sponsored during his time as a state representative and which Jackson fought against and demagogued on cable news networks.

All of this begs the question of why Jackson would accept an award from a group that apparently has no issues with having a convicted sex offender serve in a leadership role. On that question, per the Daily Wire story, Jackson's office says he "did not know about an individual’s status" when he accepted the award. I find that really hard to believe considering the amount of media attention Turner got in this part of the state (which was also Jackson's part of the state) in 2016.

The main focus right now among NC politicians and news outlets is the devastation from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. So it's not clear how much traction this story will get beyond conservative media, especially given the left-wing bent of most media outlets here. 

Regardless, Jackson's questionable judgment on issues like these (and the bathroom bill) is something voters should take into consideration before they head to the polls in November. 

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