Several television networks called the primary race for Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Ted
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7d0df7_a0639dff038c439f9fc548a2761f3cde~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_104,h_57,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/7d0df7_a0639dff038c439f9fc548a2761f3cde~mv2.jpg)
Budd, who has for months led the Republican field to replace the retiring Sen. Richard Burr in polls, after a slow start in a crowded primary. Budd, a gun store owner who first won his central North Carolina House seat in 2016, will likely go on to face Cheri Beasley, a Democratic former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, in the general election.