Pastor Daimon L. King gave the opening prayer at a campaign stop for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley in North Carolina. State and court records identify King as a registered sex offender who has been sent to prison twice for convictions involving children.
In the prayer, King asked God to bestow “integrity and honesty” on the event and to right wrongs “hammered down on the conservative movement.” The stop was held Aug. 28 at Craven County GOP headquarters in New Bern. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also appeared.
Whatley’s campaign said Whatley did not know King. Spokesman DJ Griffin said the event “was NOT planned nor organized by the Whatley campaign nor did the campaign invite any of the guests.” Griffin said the hosts, the Craven County Republican Party, invited King. County party officials could not be reached. King did not respond to messages seeking comment.
State records list two convictions and a lifetime registration order
King is 60 and leads New Beginnings Celebration church in New Bern. He has worked as a precinct chairman for the Craven County GOP and has described himself as a pro-Trump Black conservative. In sermons posted to YouTube, he has praised Trump, criticized “fake news,” and called his preaching the “pure, uncut word of God.”
Whatley’s campaign posted a video of the event on X. King can be seen behind Whatley and Oz as they spoke, nodding and giving a double thumbs-up. Such public displays of religious support for political candidates have drawn scrutiny elsewhere, as a South Carolina pastor and his wife resigned after parents raised concerns over a controversial hire at their church.
The following day, King wrote in his church’s Facebook group that “The atmosphere was charged with prayer and patriotism through the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of THE United States of America!!!” He said he and his church “fully support and are behind” Whatley.
The News & Observer reported at the time that King, then a marching band assistant at a high school outside Raleigh, was charged about 30 years ago with statutory rape and indecent liberties with a 15-year-old student. State records show he was 31 when he was convicted in 1998 and served nearly five years before parole.
State records also show King pleaded guilty in 2010 to having sex with an underage female relative and served close to three years. Under North Carolina law, he must register as a sex offender for life.
Whatley has also drawn scrutiny over Harvey L. West Jr., a former state GOP official. West chaired a congressional district committee while Whatley led the North Carolina Republican Party. Corrections records show West, once a small-town police officer, was convicted on five counts of indecent liberties with a child and served six years.
After news outlets reported the conviction in 2012, West stepped down as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention. It was reported then that West denied the offenses and said he pleaded guilty to avoid the chance of decades in prison. He is no longer required to register as a sex offender.
The state GOP later barred convicted sex offenders from holding party office. Democrats have spent more than $2.3 million on ads that use a photo of Whatley standing with West.
West said in an interview that he has been open with party leaders about his record and that his main state GOP role was elected. He said he also received appointed posts while Whatley was chairman. “I’m not going to say Michael Whatley put me up there,” West said. “But I wasn’t taken off either.”
West said he has tried to make amends. “I wanted to serve as I followed my own redemption path. We have a right to be part of the political process,” he said. “For 20 years, I have been upfront and open about who I am and what happened to me. Not everyone does that.”
West said he knew about King’s record and cautioned others when King was under consideration for a party role. “I just said, ‘Hey, y’all might want to take a look at this,’” West said.
Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political science professor who is not related to former Gov. Roy Cooper, said the matter could complicate Whatley’s effort to win hard-right conservatives. “The far right has not coalesced behind (Whatley) and these kinds of revelations will make that problem even greater,” Cooper said.
Whatley chaired the North Carolina GOP from 2019 until 2024, when Trump moved him to chair the Republican National Committee. He left that job to run for Senate after the president urged him to do so. Control of the Senate after November could hinge in part on the race. Whatley’s campaign has said Democratic opponent Roy Cooper is soft on crime.
Published: Sep 12, 2026 10:00 am