The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will stand by North Carolina Senate candidate Cal Cunningham despite a sexting scandal which caused him to apologize for an extramarital affair with a combat veteran’s wife.
The DSCC spent another $3 million dollars Wednesday on ad-buys for Cunningham’s race against Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Fox News reported. The DSCC’s help came the same day Cunningham addressed the affair, saying he is going to stay focused on the race and work the issue out with his family.
“North Carolinians are supporting Cal because he will protect health care coverage for pre-existing conditions, bring down the costs of prescription drugs and focus on providing relief to those impacted by this pandemic,” DSCC spokeswoman Lauren Passalacqua told Fox News on Thursday.
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Cunningham reportedly had an in-person affair with California public relations strategist Arlene Guzman Todd. A number of sexual text messages between Cunningham and Todd were revealed in late September, to which Cunningham has since admitted to and apologized for. (RELATED: North Carolina Senate Candidate Cal Cunningham Had In-Person Affair, Texts Reportedly Show)
The two reportedly met in person twice, according to the Associated Press, once in March in Los Angeles that did not result in any intimate contact, and a second time in July in North Carolina, where Guzman Todd said the pair were intimate. (RELATED: North Carolina Senate Candidate Cal Cunningham Had In-Person Affair, Texts Reportedly Show)
Tillis responded to the news Thursday, saying in a Thursday interview with Fox News, “I think he needs a fuller explanation, but more important than that… his entire campaign has been premised on the concept that the truth matters, duty and honor. He’s an officer in the army that’s now being investigated. He had an affair with a combat veteran’s wife. His hypocrisy is really what we’re talking about here.”
Cunningham’s campaign said Tuesday that he will stay in the Senate race despite the scandal.