Kelly Daughtry wasn’t too thrilled with her father’s idea. She had a good life practicing law in Johnston County, and was resistant to upending it to seek a congressional seat.
“‘I don’t know anything about politics. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know the people,’” Leo recalled his daughter saying at the time.
But where Kelly saw headache, Leo saw opportunity.
The elder Daughtry knew a moment when he saw one. He had decades of experience in Republican politics as a state party chair, presidential convention delegate, unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, state legislator, and UNC System Board of Governors member. Today, the 83-year-old is on the North Carolina Board of Transportation.
So when new congressional maps created an open Triangle-area tossup in 2022, he figured Kelly would be a good fit. The Daughtrys had deep personal and political ties to the community, lots of money at their disposal, and wanted to appeal to pragmatic voters frustrated with higher costs of living under President Joe Biden.
The younger Daughtry came around to her father’s idea, but lost in the GOP primary. Now she’s running again, this time in a newly drawn, largely conservative district that almost certainly will elect a Republican. Democratic U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel chose not to seek reelection after the district was redrawn.
Daughtry, 54, has fared better this time. She finished atop the 14-candidate primary field at 27 percent, just shy of the 30 percent needed to win the nomination outright. Daughtry is now in a May 14 runoff against Brad Knott of Raleigh, a first-time candidate and former federal prosecutor who finished in second with 19 percent of the vote.
It’s also a family affair for Knott.
His 97-year-old grandfather, J.T., volunteered for U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms’ 1984 campaign and spent 12 years as a Wake County commissioner. His dad, Joe, is a lawyer who overlapped with Leo Daughtry on the UNC Board of Governors.
One brother, Tucker, served as chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. George Holding of Raleigh and now holds the same job for U.S. Sen. Ted Budd. Another brother, Thomas, is a New York investor who’s donated at least $700,000 to a pro-Knott super PAC, according to federal campaign filings.
“I will not push back on any claim that I’ve been blessed with two wonderful parents and with five wonderful siblings,” Brad Knott, 37, told The Assembly.
There’s not much difference between Knott and Daughtry on policy issues. A cadre of veteran Republican political consultants have lined up on each side, portraying their candidate as the true conservative and their opponent as a squishy RINO—Republican In Name Only.
This battle of politically active families might come down to geography, with each trying to cut into the other’s home base. The district includes parts of Wake and Granville counties and all of Caswell, Person, Franklin, Johnston, Harnett, and Lee counties.
David McLennan, a Meredith College political scientist, said the runoff may have about half the turnout as the first primary. That would most benefit the candidate best able to convince voters they are the staunchest conservative.
Barring any changes to redistricting or Democrats taking control of the legislature when maps are redrawn after the 2030 Census, the victor could hold the seat for years.
McLennan said the family dynamics have created interest in the race beyond the Triangle: “We don’t see a lot of races involving two people with family histories like Daughtry and Knott.”
Political Liabilities
For Daughtry and her political allies, distinguishing her has meant criticizing Knott in television ads for living outside the district and working as a federal prosecutor when Obama and Biden were president.
“It’s hard for me to understand how if you’re not living in the district, how you love the district,” Daughtry said. “To me, it seems like you [should be] running because you want to do good, you want to help North Carolina. But [with Knott], it’s more about what you want to do and where you’re going in your career. … I’m not looking to make this a career. I’m looking at trying to fix what I see is broken.”
Knott lives in Raleigh a few miles outside of the district. U.S. House members are not required to live in the district they represent.
Daughtry said she supports term limits that cap a representative’s service at six or eight years.
The ad criticizing Knott’s stint as a federal prosecutor was produced by a pro-Daughtry group separate from her campaign, but Daughtry defended it. “He was an Obama appointee,” she said.
Daughtry’s campaign has also put out a similar ad.
Knott was a federal prosecutor in North Carolina from 2016 to 2023. He said he started in a temporary job, was hired full-time by U.S. Attorney Bobby Higdon during Trump’s presidency, and left the Department of Justice last year.
“They are trying to paint me as someone who I’m not, an Obama-Biden lawyer,” Knott said. “And they are trying to portray Kelly Daughtry as someone she’s not, a lifelong committed conservative.”
When Knott worked as a federal prosecutor, he was not a political appointee who served at the pleasure of the president. He served on the professional staff, which is chosen by merit and is intended to be nonpartisan.
Max Stier, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, said the TV ads attacking Knott for serving in Democratic administrations were misleading and risk undermining voters’ faith in an apolitical federal workforce.
“It’s an attack with zero substance and it’s an attack that misunderstands our system of government and our democracy,” Stier said. “If you’re enforcing the laws of the United States as an assistant United States attorney, you swear an oath to the Constitution. You do not swear an oath to the political party of the United States.”
Knott has also faced fire for repeatedly voting in the wrong precinct over the past decade by casting ballots using his parents’ Raleigh address instead of his Raleigh townhouse. Daughtry’s campaign has also branded Knott as a “Never Trumper” because he didn’t vote in the 2016 and 2020 primaries.
Knott said he made a mistake by voting at the wrong precinct in as many as five elections and never thought to double check the address listed on the ballot that poll workers handed him. He said he corrected the issue last year when he learned he hadn’t updated his voter registration. He also said that while he doesn’t remember why he didn’t vote in the 2016 or 2020 primaries, he’s never voted against Trump.
Asked why he didn’t vote in 2016 when Trump was in a competitive primary, Knott replied, “I should have. I own that.”
Meanwhile, Knott has worked to distinguish himself from Daughtry by highlighting her past donations to Democrats, which were first reported on by the Carolina Journal in 2022. Knott points to a 2012 Facebook comment Daughtry made voicing her intention to vote for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney as evidence she’s not sufficiently conservative.
He also notes Daughtry gave $500 to support Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s 2020 reelection bid and $250 to former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley in 2021 as she was running for U.S. Senate. Daughtry also gave Beasley $200 for her 2014 state Supreme Court campaign.
“I do not know how a conservative could justify that litany of actions,” Knott said.
Daughtry also contributed to Republicans. She said she voted for Romney in 2012, gave to Stein because a mutual friend asked for her help, and donated to Beasley because she had collaborated with her father while he was in the General Assembly. Daughtry said she’s never voted or considered voting for Stein or Beasley.
“Some things are just not about politics,” Daughtry said. “They say, ‘You have bankrolled Democrats.’ I never voted for either one, never would vote for either one of them, never have even thought about voting for either one of them.”
Her father said she “is in fact Trumpy enough. And she is in fact conservative enough.”
Charisma Deficit
If you’d walked into the 13th District forum at Sophie’s Bar and Grill in Cary in January, you might not have thought Knott and Daughtry would advance to the runoff. Other candidates were more lively and charismatic.
Speaking to a group of Wake County Republicans with 10 other primary contenders, Daughtry and Knott came across as stiff and mild-mannered—not the characteristics one might expect to generate grassroots enthusiasm.
What Daughtry and Knott lack in smiles and soundbites, they attempt to make up by being direct with voters.
Daughtry presented herself as someone capable of addressing inflation by lowering federal spending. “We can’t continue to make fake money and not balance our budget,” Daughtry told the crowd.
Knott answered a question about his residency by referencing his career.
“I probably live, as the crow flies, three miles outside the district,” Knott said. “For most of my professional career, I was a prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office. I worked all throughout this district.”
Daughtry and Knott are trying to show voters that they are work horses, not show horses.
“I may not be a good speaker, but I’m a worker and I’m a fighter,” Daughtry said. “It is what it is. It makes running more difficult. I don’t think it makes the job more difficult.”
“Do I enjoy running for office?” Knott reflected in response to a reporter’s question. “There are parts like this, you have discussions, talking with voters, I really do. But there are other parts [fundraising and responding to attack ads] that I really don’t.”
Daughtry and Knott say they do well with one-on-one interactions with voters, but television ads may prove far more impactful. Both are campaigning heavily on closing the southern border, getting the country’s financial house in order and reducing crime.
Daughtry said she’d want to send U.S. military troops to the southern border and declare Mexican drug cartels terrorist organizations.
Knott said he wants more local police officers cross-deputized with federal credentials to assist in fighting crime and more criminal deportations.
“If you come here and you commit a crime, it needs to be exorbitantly punitive,” Knott said. “I don’t care if it’s a DUI all the way up to serious drug trafficking or violent felonies, there needs to be an immediate response to punish and expel.”
He added: “When I say I want to fix immigration at the border, I know how to do it. And I have actually fought the fight for most of my professional career.”
Knott supports “strengthening legal immigration, making it easier for folks to come here and work and serve and pay taxes.”
I asked the candidates how they differed on policy. Daughtry paused for 20 seconds before saying, “I don’t know.”
Knott couldn’t identify a clear policy difference either, but pointed to a difference in background. “We’re the only conservative in this race,” he said.
The candidates are closely aligned with Trump. They oppose further aid to Ukraine as it fights against Russia’s invasion, and neither is willing to challenge Trump’s repeated statements that the 2020 election was stolen from him. There’s no evidence to support that claim.
Daughtry said, “Democrats and big tech clearly worked together to rig the election for Joe Biden.” Knott, through a spokesman, said there were not appropriate checks on mail-in ballots in 2020, raising suspicion about the results.
Battle of the Consultants
The political consultants are playing an unusually public role in this Republican family feud. Carter Wrenn, longtime campaign strategist for U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, advised Daughtry in 2022. He joined Knott for 2024.
“I thought Brad was more conservative than Kelly and that he’d be a better person in Congress,” Wrenn said.
Luke Stancil, who handles communications for Daughtry’s super PAC and worked on her 2022 campaign, blamed Wrenn for Daughtry’s past defeat.
“Carter Wrenn is a disgruntled former employee that Kelly Daughtry did not retain this time into this campaign because he spent $2.5 million of [Daughtry’s] own money and came in third,” Stancil said.
Wrenn attributed the 2022 loss to Daughtry’s past donations to Democrats and said he joined Knott’s campaign after Brad’s father asked for his help.
“We don’t see a lot of races involving two people with family histories like Daughtry and Knott.”
David McLennan, Meredith College political scientist
“It had nothing to do with disgruntlement with Daughtry,” Wrenn said. “It was just that I’ve known the Knotts and am close friends with them.”
Jonathan Felts, a fiery political consultant who helped get Ted Budd elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, joined Knott’s campaign last month. Felts also helped lobbyist Addison McDowell win a crowded 6th District GOP primary in March.
Felts revealed he was joining Knott’s campaign by sharing the Facebook post of Daughtry saying she’d vote for Obama in 2012. In an interview, Felts also sought to distinguish Knott’s courtroom experience as a prosecutor from Daughtry’s as a divorce lawyer. Daughtry practices law at the firm her father founded.
“When you’re in the court, it’s you up there making the case,” Felts said. “But it is different, though, if your job is at your daddy’s law firm.”
Charles Hellwig, who handled communications for Raleigh businessman Fred Von Canon’s campaign, is backing Daughtry. Von Canon spent $3 million and finished 1.6 percentage points behind Knott.
Wrenn published a blog post condemning one ad from Daughtry’s super PAC that used a doctored photo of Biden with his arm around Knott.
“What the super PAC Leo funded did to the photo was pretty deceptive,” Wrenn said. “They took a policeman out, they put Biden in, they moved him close to Brad, they put Biden’s hand on Brad’s shoulder like they were old buddies. And Brad Knott’s never met Joe Biden.”
Stancil said Leo Daughtry had no role in the commercial and that Wrenn’s outrage was disingenuous.
“Carter Wrenn’s done this for years,” Stancil said. “To act like he shows shock that this happened is really absurd. This is nothing that hasn’t been done before [by] creating the connection between Joe Biden and one of his guys in the Department of Justice.”
Wrenn said he’s run ads that showed different candidates side by side, but said he’s never doctored photos.
The Politics of Geography
In the first primary, Daughtry finished in the top two in every county except Wake, which Knott won. Von Canon was a close second there. Knott hopes to win the support of Von Canon’s voters in the runoff and overtake Daughtry.
The contest could also be decided in Johnston County, where Daughtry, who lives in Clayton, got 35 percent of the vote to Knott’s 13 percent. The county had the largest share of GOP primary votes cast in the district. Businessman DeVan Barbour, a Johnston County native, got almost 27 percent of the vote in the county and finished fourth overall. Daughtry wants to appeal to his supporters.
Daughtry has the financial edge and has inundated the airwaves over the past three months. She’s spent at least $2.3 million on her own campaign, while her father has kicked in at least $300,000 through a pro-Daughtry super PAC, the latest filings show.
A random drawing also bolstered Daughtry by placing her at the top of the ballot.
“I’m almost tapped out fully,” said Knott, who’s given his campaign at least $380,000. “Can we compete with the Daughtrys’ dollars? No, we cannot. That’s why we’ve had the most aggressive fundraising of any congressional candidate, maybe in the whole state.”
Looming large is whether Trump will get involved. Budd, who’s endorsed Knott, won Trump’s endorsement for McDowell in December, which propelled the political newcomer to Congress (there’s no Democrat running for the seat). If he could secure Trump’s endorsement for Knott, that could swing the outcome.
The Family Feud game show lasts 30 minutes. North Carolina’s congressional edition will be a weekslong marathon. Early voting starts April 25.
But Daughtry and Knott don’t want the race to be seen as a war between affluent families or ruthless GOP operatives. The candidates have one overriding goal—to convince runoff voters that they are the one true conservative.
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