Knott wins GOP nomination in Triangle congressional runoff

Former federal prosecutor Brad Knott secured the Republican nomination in a Triangle-area congressional district — his biggest obstacle on the road to Washington.

The outcome in Tuesday’s second primary was largely expected. What started as an unpredictable, neck-and-neck affair in March — evolving into a tense battle over conservative credentials — essentially became a one-candidate race when Daughtry suspended her campaign and opted to support Knott. Daughtry’s late departure from the race on May 2 came too late for her name to be removed from the ballot.

In a statement Tuesday night, Knott said he was humbled and honored to be the GOP nominee.

“Now that the primary is behind us, we can focus on winning in November so that we can get to work on addressing serious problems facing our country with smart, conservative solutions,” Knott said. “Whether the open border, runaway spending, intrusive regulations from Washington, etc. — we need Conservatives from all across the country to stand strong with President Trump and deliver real solutions in Congress. I look forward to doing just that.”

A spokesman for the Daughtry campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Knott’s victory illustrates the power of an endorsement by former President Donald Trump in the region’s more rural areas.

Daughtry and Knott spent millions of dollars on their respective campaigns, emerging as the top two GOP candidates in the March 5 primary, which featured 14 Republicans. Daughtry received 27% percent of the vote, and Knott received 19% — a gap of about 7,000 votes, but short of the 30% threshold needed to win the nomination outright. That led to Tuesday’s runoff.

Daughtry appeared to be on her way to a runoff victory early last month; her campaign touted internal polling that showed a sizable lead over Knott. But the race tilted in Knott’s favor on April 8, when Trump endorsed him. In the end, Daughtry said she didn’t want to go against Trump, who is the Republican nominee for president.

Knott will face — and is expected to beat — Democrat Frank Pierce in the general election. U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, the district’s Democratic incumbent, isn’t seeking reelection because state lawmakers recently redrew the district to give Republicans a significant statistical advantage.

In 2022, the 13th district was mostly confined to the southeastern regions of the Triangle in Wake, Johnston and Harnett Counties. In the 2024 election, it curls around left-leaning Wake County like a fish hook. It starts in Caswell County and stretches eastward across the state’s northern border before dropping into Franklin, Johnston and Harnett counties. It then turns west again, capturing the south extremes of Wake County before ending southwest of the Triangle in Lee County.

Knott’s experience as a federal prosecutor afforded him a campaign message that stood out in the GOP field. Knott tells voters that he’s qualified to address crime and immigration in Congress because he helped put drug traffickers behind bars. Crime and immigration are top issues for Republican voters.

Knott and Daughtry sparred over who was the most conservative, often accusing each other of holding secret liberal beliefs. Daughtry donated to campaigns of Democratic candidates in 2020 and 2021 and said in a social media post in 2012 that she planned to vote for Democrat Barack Obama. Daughtry, meanwhile, attacked Knott for working as a federal prosecutor under the Biden administration and for voting from the wrong address.

Daughtry’s late exit from the race was a shocker. Until Trump’s endorsement of Knott, Republican insiders still considered Daughtry the favorite in the runoff. She had strong support in her home county, where many of the district’s voters live. She also had endorsements from elected officials in the area. And she benefitted from name recognition; Daughtry ran for the same congressional seat in 2022, placing third, and her father represented the area in the state legislature for decades.

Daughtry said she still plans to remain politically active. “I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in,” she said in a May 2 statement. “I will focus on conservative voter registration operations and supporting the nominated conservative judicial candidates running in November.”