N.C. Dem stays on ballot despite party’s disavowal over Nazi comparisons

A North Carolina Democrat running for a competitive state House seat remains on the November ballot even after her own party publicly cut ties with her over a string of inflammatory social media posts, including one calling for an attack on U.S. soil.

Shelly Headen, the Democratic nominee challenging Republican Rep. John Blust for the House District 62 seat in Guilford County, cannot be removed from the ballot because the deadline to withdraw from the general-election ballot passed Aug. 20 — nearly two weeks before the state began mailing absentee ballots on Sept. 4.

Posts attributed to Ms. Headen called for “an attack on US Soil … preferably Alabama, Louisiana … where the stupid people live,” and separately argued that the “MAGA cult may be more destructive and evil than the Nazis,” claiming President Trump’s actions were “getting close to surpassing Hitler.”

A Facebook post attributed to Ms. Headen also surfaced showing her at Germany’s Dachau concentration camp memorial with the caption, “This is where Trump supporters belong.” In an interview with The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, Ms. Headen said she could not recall the exact wording of her past posts but acknowledged being “very vocal against MAGA.” Other posts unearthed by the outlet include a comment suggesting Trump supporters “experience sexual assault” and remarks praising the man who pleaded guilty to killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, in which Ms. Headen wrote, “I think America is beyond peaceful protest!”

The North Carolina House Democratic Caucus moved swiftly to distance itself once the posts drew scrutiny. “Shelly Headen’s posts are unacceptable and do not reflect the values we expect of our candidates,” Sam Lozier, the caucus’s communications director, said in a statement. The Guilford County Democratic Party likewise withdrew all financial and organizational support.

House Speaker Destin Hall, a Republican, called the posts “absolutely disgusting” and said Ms. Headen had disqualified herself from office, though he acknowledged her free-speech rights. “She has a First Amendment right to say whatever she wants to say,” Mr. Hall said, “but she doesn’t have a right to serve the people of her district.”

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley sought to tie the controversy to Democratic Senate nominee and former Gov. Roy Cooper, posting that Mr. Cooper “still stands with NC Dem who called for the genocide of Republicans” — Mr. Whatley’s own characterization of Ms. Headen’s posts, not language she used herself. Mr. Cooper’s campaign called the posts “reprehensible” and said he “condemns them and all forms of political violence.”

Ms. Headen has defended herself, telling The Assembly, “I’ve sacrificed myself just like Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, and Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and all the people that put themselves out there to sacrifice for our country.” She has said she paid a consulting firm $30,000 to review her social media history and denied ownership of an X account the caucus had previously linked to her.

The renewed attention comes as Ms. Headen also faces questions over two 2024 Guilford County Sheriff’s Office incident reports, dated May 30 and Nov. 19, naming her as the suspect and her husband, Gregory Thomas Headen, as the victim in alleged domestic physical assaults involving personal weapons. The records, released by House Republicans, consist only of incident-report face sheets and suspect lists — they do not include deputies’ narrative accounts of what occurred, and they do not establish that either incident led to an arrest or criminal charge.

House Republicans say the records indicate Ms. Headen’s husband placed both calls to law enforcement; Ms. Headen, in a statement, said she was the one who called 911 after her husband grabbed her during an argument and she fell and hit her head. She has described herself as having experienced abuse and has said Republicans are using a private family matter for political gain.

The John Locke Foundation’s 2026 Civitas Partisan Index rates House District 62 “R+2,” or lean Republican. Mr. Blust won the seat in 2024 by 3,792 votes, 53.4% to 46.6%, over Democrat Marjorie Benbow.