Ted Budd Bio
Theodore Paul Budd, known publicly as Ted Budd, is an American businessman and Republican politician who has served as the junior United States senator from North Carolina since January 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented North Carolina’s 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023. Budd gained national attention in 2022 when he won the Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Richard Burr, defeating Democratic former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley.
Before entering public office, Budd built a career in private business, including ownership of a gun store, and served on advocacy boards related to education. He has also been active in his community through scouting and home-schooling organizations. His political rise is often linked to his conservative positions on firearms, taxation, and social issues.
Early Life and Background
Theodore Paul Budd was born on October 21, 1971, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. When he was young, his family relocated to a 300-acre farm on the Yadkin River in Davie County, outside the community of Advance, where the family raised cattle and chickens. His father, Richard Budd, owned a facility-services company and supported the family’s rural lifestyle.
Budd attended Summit School, a private school in Winston-Salem, before continuing his education at Davie County High School, from which he graduated in 1990. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Appalachian State University in 1994. As a young adult, Budd traveled to the Soviet Union on a mission in 1991, an experience that would later shape his personal life.
He later pursued theological studies, earning a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1998. Continuing his business education, he completed a Master of Business Administration at the Wake Forest University School of Business in 2007. His academic background combined business training with religious studies, laying the foundation for his future roles as both entrepreneur and civic advocate.
Path to US Politics
Before entering Congress, Budd built a career in small business, including owning a gun store in Rural Hall, North Carolina. He also served as a board member for North Carolinians for Home Education, an advocacy group supporting home-schooling families. His involvement in these organizations helped him build relationships with conservative voters across the state.
His early engagement with Republican politics grew through support from national conservative groups, including the Club for Growth, which backed his initial run for Congress. Budd’s positions on gun rights, limited government, and traditional family values aligned with the priorities of North Carolina’s conservative base, particularly in rural and suburban districts.
In 2016, following court-mandated redistricting, Budd’s home in Davie County was drawn into a newly redrawn 13th congressional district. The original 13th district’s Republican incumbent, George Holding, opted to run in a different district, opening the door for Budd to enter the race. With early organizational support and a strong primary performance, Budd positioned himself as a serious contender for the open seat.
Ted Budd Career
Early Career (2016-2017)
Ted Budd entered the 2016 race for North Carolina’s 13th congressional district as one of 17 candidates in the Republican primary. With the support of the Club for Growth, which spent over $285,000 on his campaign, Budd won the primary with 20% of the vote, advancing to the general election. He faced Bruce Davis, a former Guilford County commissioner, and won with 56.1% of the vote.
On January 3, 2017, Budd was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning his tenure in Congress. His early legislative work focused on supporting tax reform and strengthening national defense, including votes for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and multiple Defense Authorization Spending Bills during the Trump administration.
U.S. House of Representatives Breakthrough (2017-2022)
During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Budd became a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republican lawmakers. He was reelected in 2018, defeating Democrat Kathy Manning with 51.5% of the vote to her 45.8%. Two years later, in 2020, he was reelected with 68.2% of the vote, defeating Democrat Scott Huffman, who received 31.8%.
Budd supported several major legislative efforts, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, which he said would open markets for North Carolina agricultural products. He opposed the American Rescue Plan Act, the Build Back Better Act, and the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act during the Biden administration. He also voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, in 2017.
On social policy, Budd co-sponsored a House bill introduced in the Senate by Lindsey Graham that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In 2022, he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which required federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. In late February 2021, Budd was among a dozen Republican House members who skipped votes to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference, prompting an ethics complaint by the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability.
U.S. Senate Era (2023-Present)
On January 3, 2023, Ted Budd was sworn in as North Carolina’s junior United States senator at the convening of the 118th Congress. He was one of five new Republican senators to take office that day. In March 2023, he introduced the Seeing Objects at Altitude Regularly Act (SOAR), co-sponsored with Senator Mark Kelly, requiring high-altitude balloons operating at 10,000 feet or higher to carry tracking systems. The bill was introduced in response to a Chinese-operated balloon crossing over the United States.
Budd was among 31 Senate Republicans who voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. In January 2025, he co-sponsored the Kids Off Social Media Act, which would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms and restrict algorithmically targeted content to users under 17. In 2024, he visited Israel in a show of support after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most defining moments in Ted Budd’s political career came on April 23, 2021, when he traveled to Mar-a-Lago to discuss a prospective Senate run with former President Donald Trump. Five days later, Budd announced his candidacy for the Class 3 Senate seat held by the retiring Richard Burr. At the Republican state convention in Greenville in June 2021, he received the endorsements of Donald Trump and Lara Trump, helping him consolidate early support. He went on to win the Republican primary on May 17, 2022, with 58% of the vote, defeating Pat McCrory and Mark Walker, and then defeated Cheri Beasley in the general election with 50.5% of the vote.
Ted Budd Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Ted Budd met his wife, Amy Kate Adams, on a mission to the Soviet Union in 1991. The couple married in 1994 and have three children. They live in Davie County on the same farm where Budd was raised, continuing the family’s connection to rural North Carolina. His father, Richard Budd, owned a facility-services company and supported the family’s agricultural lifestyle, including raising cattle and chickens on the property.
Personal Life
The Budds home-school their three children, and Ted Budd serves as an assistant scoutmaster in his son’s Boy Scout troop. He has been active in education advocacy, including serving on the board of North Carolinians for Home Education. His personal interests and family life reflect the same conservative values that define his political career, including a strong commitment to family, faith, and community involvement.