On Hutchinson's Jan. 6 bombshell: Local Dems opine, while GOP members silent

ASHEVILLE - When a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows came forward with jaw-dropping allegations about her boss and ex-President Donald Trump, Western North Carolina congressional candidate Jasmine Beach-Ferrara saw a potential campaign boost.

On June 29, a day after Cassidy Hutchinson stunned much of the nation with her testimony to the House select Jan. 6 committee, Beach-Ferrara, a Democratic Buncombe County commissioner and high-profile LGBTQ rights activist, tweeted about it and linked to her campaign donations page. She referenced both Meadows and the current 11th District representative, scandal-ridden Republican Madison Cawthorn, who is serving out his term after losing the May 17 primary.

"Mark Meadows requested a pardon for Jan. 6 and is being investigated for voter fraud. Madison Cawthorn is being investigated for insider trading. WNC is ready for a change and deserves a rep who puts the people of our district above self interest," she said.

The Republican candidate for the 11th District — which covers 14 1/2 WNC counties — had a different take. State Sen. Chuck Edwards of Henderson County did not watch the hearing, he said.

More: Will Mark Meadows, ex-Trump chief, be charged after Jan. 6 explosive testimony?

"The N.C. legislature is in session and I’ve been consumed with the work here in Raleigh, therefore not engaged on the testimony of Ms. Hutchinson," Edwards said June 29.

The Citizen Times asked Edwards if, allowed another day, he could give his reaction to the testimony, which included that Meadows and the president knew Trump supporters on Jan. 6 were armed, some with AR-15s, though neither did anything to quell possible violence. He did not respond.

On June 30, Edwards tweeted pictures of a cookout with legislators marking the end of the General Assembly's short session, set to wrap up in a few days.

Fellow GOP state Sen. Warren Daniel, who is running for the 46th district that covers eastern Buncombe as well as McDowell and Burke counties, did not respond to requests for comment and did not post anything on social media about the hearing.

Neither did Republican 49th state Senate candidate John Anderson.

"John is going to stick to focusing on issues affecting the General Assembly since he is running for state and not federal office," spokesperson Laura Macklem said.

When it was pointed out that state legislators were involved in events around Jan. 6, such as Republican Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who refused the president's request to replace the state's rightful Joe Biden electors with fake Trump electors, Macklem again said Anderson would not comment.

Like many Americans in general, Democrats have expressed dismay at the desperate, self-serving and seemingly illegal measures taken by Trump and his supporters to try to overturn Joe Biden's election, as described in Hutchinson's and others testimony in six hearings.

Facing a difficult election landscape, Democratic candidates have also sought to use the hearings as a campaign issue.

Republicans, though, have downplayed the committee's sessions, drawing attention instead to high gas prices, painful inflation and what they say is Biden's failure to help regular people.

"We would think that these hearings would benefit the Democrats," said Catawba College political science professor Mike Bitzer. "But Democrats have a pretty monumental uphill to climb in this midterm."

A spokesperson for Meadows, a former WNC congressman, has not responded to messages from the Citizen Times seeking comment. Cawthorn spokesperson Micah Bock also did not respond. But the one-term congressman in social media posts made light of the hearing, equating Hutchinson to actor Johnny Depp's ex-wife Amber Heard in their scandalous defamation trial.

In another tweet he made fun of one of the most striking parts of the testimony, that Trump thought he was going to the Capitol with his supporters, despite his counsel's warning that it would constitute a criminal violation of the Jan. 6 election certification procedure. When told he was instead going back to the White House, Trump fought with a security official for the vehicle's steering wheel, Hutchinson said.

"Retweet if you wish Donald Trump was still behind the wheel, driving our country forward!" Cawthorn tweeted June 29.

Hutchinson's account has been questioned by some Secret Service members, though they, unlike her, have not spoken under oath.

Asked for a more detailed reaction to Hutchinson's testimony, Beach-Ferrara issued a June 29 statement saying the committee's work was critical and noting the deaths of law enforcement officers linked to the Capitol invasion.

"It was, in short, a coup attempt, orchestrated and coordinated at the highest levels of government," she said.

The 11th District candidate called on Meadows to go before the committee and for Edwards to state his positions on the Jan. 6 testimony, including whether he thought the events amounted to an insurrection, whether Meadows should testify and what he thought of Trump's role and Meadows' pardon request.

"The voters of our district deserve honest answers - not more vague talking points," she said.

Prior reporting on hearings and Mark Meadows' Jan. 6 role:

► January 6 hearing: Mark Meadows said he knew Mike Pence stopping certification was illegal

► Meadows: Send Georgia elections inspectors 's--tload of POTUS stuff': Jan. 6 committee

► Mark Meadows pushed Italian satellite vote-changing theory: 'Meadows discussed it frequently'

► Mark Meadows knew marchers had guns, could invade Capitol, sought pardon: Jan. 6 testimony

More than two years ago, on the day of the attack, Edwards lashed out at Cawthorn after he spoke at Trump's rally preceding the march on the Capitol, saying his fellow Republican was "inflaming" Americans' differences.

Edwards declined, however, to lay any blame on Trump. In November 2021, the state senator announced his primary run against Cawthorn, beating him half a year later.

Those open to talking about the hearings were Democratic candidates for Buncombe's two state Senate seats.

District 49 incumbent Sen. Julie Mayfield called witnesses such as Hutchinson courageous and said she was alarmed at the number of gun-carrying demonstrators who were near the president. Mayfield also said she was shocked by accounts of Meadows' failure to act to stop the violence and his disregard for Vice President Mike Pence's safety after Trump supporters erected a makeshift gallows and chanted for Pence to be hanged.

She said the former WNC congressman should be "indicted and prosecuted."

"A courageous leader will do what is right, what is legal, what is required even if she doesn't like it or personally want it," Mayfield said. "Trump is not and never has been that leader, and we now know that Meadows is not either."

Billy Martin, candidate for the Senate 46th District, agreed that Meadows and others who plotted with Trump should face serious consequences.

"They think they are above the law and can do whatever they want, but we've got to hold their feet to the fire, just like we do everybody else," said Martin a retired school counselor from Marion.

But Trump, while culpable, should not face the same penalty, he said.

"As far as putting him in jail, I don't think that would be good for the nation. We know enough about him already. There's no surprise."

Outside of action by the Department of Justice, it is not clear if voters will care enough to swing away from Republicans. Bitzer, the Catawba College instructor, said the negative information about Trump and his backers would likely only help Democrats in close races.

"And I wouldn't necessarily put the mountain's congressional district in that category," he said.

Western Carolina University political science professors Chris Cooper and Todd Collins agreed it would be hard to significantly move the needle on the red-leaning 11th. In state legislative races, the Jan. 6 revelations might also not register as much by the time Nov. 8 rolls around, they said.

"We may find that other issues, like the economy and abortion, are more on voters' minds and in candidate speeches next fall than the former president," Collins said.

Cooper said the hearings will be seen as important historically and important in short-term political considerations, "but they are unlikely to be a game changer in any race, be it local, state or federal."

"Despite these extraordinary times, the outcome of November’s election is likely to be driven by ordinary factors — the president’s approval rating, district demographics and the state of the economy," he said.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: How will Hutchinson Jan. 6 testimony affect WNC, Asheville races?