Cabarrus County Republican Party

Great to see Congressman Mark Harris in Cabarrus County tonight. Thank you for the work you are doing for the citizens of Cabarrus County.

Happy Father’s Day! Today, we celebrate all the dads, grandfathers, and father figures who lead by example and show what it means to be a godly man through their words and actions.

As a proud father of three and grandfather of eleven, I can say without hesitation that being a father and grandfather has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

May today be a time to celebrate one of God’s greatest gifts to us, our children, and to give thanks for the joy and purpose they bring into our lives each day.

Today's Juneteenth luncheon with the Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina reminds us that the American story is one of faith, respect, sacrifice, and the continual work to carry the work of Frederick Douglas forward.

We were reminded of Ronald Reagan's timeless words on this national recognition of freedom:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free

Happy Juneteenth — and here’s to 250 years of the American spirit. Special thanks to Commissioners Laura Lindsay and Ian Patrick for partnering with Frederick Douglas and Cabarrus Republican Party to organize today's event.

Seeking to honor Kirk after his assassination, Gabby Stout and two of her friends painted the spirit rock at Ardrey Kell High School three days after Charlie Kirk’s death last year. Although she received permission from the school office, within hours of painting the words “Freedom 1776” and “Live Like Kirk—John 11:25” on the boulder, along with an image of an American flag and a heart, the school painted over the rock.

Gabby was copied on an email the school principal sent to the entire school, accusing her of vandalism and announcing that they had contacted law enforcement to start a criminal investigation.

She was later removed from class by school officials, who ordered her to write a statement that acknowledged her involvement in painting the boulder. The administration forced her to add details she had not included in her initial statement. During another class, they pulled her from the room again. They interrogated her about the statement and forced her to hand over her cell phone without parental consent, so they could examine her call history.

Alliance Defending Freedom filed suit against the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education this past December, claiming that the board had violated Gabby's First Amendment rights. ADF announced this week that the Charlotte board had agreed to pay $95,000 as part of a settlement. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is also required to adopt a new policy that protects students’ free speech rights and to issue a public statement of regret to Gabby.

Travis Barham, ADF senior counsel, said in a press release that school officials should never “censor, punish, or shame a student simply for sharing her views. It is long past time for school officials to learn that they cannot promote student viewpoints they like while punishing students whose views they dislike."

Today, we honor Juneteenth — the day in 1865 when the final enslaved Americans in Texas learned they were free. It’s a powerful reminder of our nation’s ongoing journey to live up to the promise written in 1776: that all are created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights.

The left has co-opted Juneteenth to push for radical racial policies and reparations. They've tried to make it a partisan holiday by excluding most Americans from its celebration. Our local black Republican leaders have experienced this. This holiday is for all Americans, not just for a select, qualified few.

President Trump was the first president to call for its adoption as a federal holiday in 2020, though it took a year for Congress to act. When it did, the bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent and the House 415-14. The left has worked hard to co-opt the holiday and use it as a tool to divide their countrymen. On the very first federal Juneteenth, when Democratic leaders tied the holiday to the death of George Floyd and renamed the day “Juneteenth National Independence Day,” setting up direct opposition to July 4th. As a result, many conservatives now oppose the federal holiday.

But for many Republicans, Juneteenth is deeply connected to our party’s founding mission — the fight against slavery, the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln, and the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. It’s a day for all Americans to celebrate the values of freedom, human dignity, and the courage of those who carried the torch of liberty forward. We've always been the Party that stood against slavery and human trafficking while celebrating the pursuit of each citizen's freedom and liberty. It was the Republican Party that led on voting rights and freedom for women in 1919 and Emancipation for all slaves in America in 1863.

As we approach America’s 250th birthday, Juneteenth takes on an even greater meaning. It reminds us that the American story is one of striving, sacrifice, and the continual work of perfecting our union. Two and a half centuries later, the call to defend freedom and opportunity still belongs to all of us.

Happy Juneteenth — and here’s to 250 years of the American spirit.

“Losing a job can be a traumatic event that hurts entire families,” State Auditor Dave Boliek said in a press release. His recently released State Audit found North Carolina made more than $47 million in fraudulent unemployment benefit overpayments and continued a 15-year pattern of late unemployment benefits to first-time beneficiaries.

Boliek told the Carolina Journal, People who lose a job still have mortgages to pay and bills to finance." The recent follow-up audit by the professional team at the State Auditor’s Office shows that the Stein Administration's 28% untimely rate is an improvement over Roy Cooper's 43% late rate in the 2024 audit, but more work is needed to fix the problem. The Employment Security Commission hasn't met the federal standards for first-time unemployment benefit payments since 2011.

Boliek said, "It’s not fair for the government to continually shrug its shoulders at such a longstanding problem."

The Republican Party thanks the Cabarrus County Commissioners for passing the Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina Juneteenth proclamation on Monday night for the first time in history.

It was Republican leaders in the US House and Senate who worked with President Lincoln to eradicate slavery in America. While we pause as a nation to recognize the important milestone of Juneteenth on Friday, it was President Lincoln, the first Republican president, who was the primary political force behind the 13th Amendment, which fully abolished slavery nationwide.

After realizing his Emancipation Proclamation did not fully abolish slavery, President Lincoln made the 13th Amendment a central platform of his 1864 reelection campaign and actively pressured lawmakers to secure its passage in January of 1865.

We thank Republican Representatives James Ashley of Ohio, John B Henderson of Missouri and James F Wilson of Ohio, who worked with Republican Senators Lyman Trumbull of Ohio and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who helped shape the language and championed the amendment's moral efforts to recognize all men are created equal and deserve the rights & prelidges afforded to them under the US Constitution.

We are a stronger nation due to the 13th, 14th and 15th constitutional amendments, known as the Reconstruction Amendments. These amendments created the basis for the civil rights we all enjoy today. Cabarrus County recognizes the hard work and moral compass of Republicans, who were the sole driving force behind this legislation, while Democrats widely opposed these moves.