Key Takeaways
Ted Budd is a gun store owner by trade, having owned and operated ProShots, a firing range and tactical store in rural North Carolina, before entering politics.
He rose from a crowded 17-way primary in 2016 to become a Congressman and then won a competitive U.S. Senate race in 2022 with the backing of Donald Trump.
He serves on the powerful Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, critical assignments for North Carolina, which has one of the largest military footprints in the nation (Fort Liberty, Camp Lejeune).
His legislative focus is heavily centered on Second Amendment rights, manufacturing deregulation, and cutting federal spending, often voting against bipartisan budget deals he views as inflationary.
“He went from selling firearms behind a counter in Rural Hall to voting on national security in the Senate Situation Room. Ted Budd is the gun-store owner turned Senator.”
Ted Budd: The Merchant of the Second Amendment
Senator Ted Budd’s resume stands out in a chamber full of lawyers. Before he was a politician, he was a small businessman in the most literal sense: he bought a bankrupt gun range in Rural Hall, North Carolina, and turned it into ProShots, a successful firearms store and training facility. This background as a federally licensed firearms dealer gives him a unique, technical authority on gun laws that few other Senators possess.
Budd entered the political arena in 2016 as a fiercely anti-establishment outsider. In a chaotic 17-candidate Republican primary for a U.S. House seat, he emerged victorious with the help of the Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative powerhouse. He spent three terms in the House as a quiet but reliable vote for the “America First” agenda before running for the Senate in 2022 to replace the retiring Richard Burr. Endorsed early by Donald Trump, Budd defeated former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, cementing North Carolina’s status as a lean-Republican stronghold.
Now in the Senate, Budd has quickly become a key player on national defense. He sits on the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. These are vital roles for his state, which is home to the Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) airborne forces and the Camp Lejeune Marine base. He pushes for robust defense spending while simultaneously advocating for a “maximum pressure” campaign against China and Iran. Domestically, he remains a fiscal hardliner, frequently voting against continuing resolutions and advocating for the REINS Act to curb the power of federal regulatory agencies.
State Context: North Carolina (U.S. Census Data)
Population: ~10.9 Million (The 9th most populous state, growing rapidly).
The “Military-Banking” Economy: North Carolina has a unique dual economy.
Charlotte is the second-largest banking hub in the U.S. (after NYC), home to Bank of America and Truist.
The Military: The state hosts the 4th largest military population in the country, supporting over 578,000 jobs.
Key Regions:
The Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham): A global hub for biotech and Ph.D. researchers.
Rural NC: A massive agricultural sector, leading the nation in sweet potatoes, tobacco, and poultry.
Demographics: A true “Purple State” battleground. ~62% White, ~22% Black/African American. The rapid influx of tech workers to Raleigh and bankers to Charlotte is slowly shifting the state’s traditional politics.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau & NC Dept. of Commerce
Sources Used
Official Biography: https://www.budd.senate.gov/about
Ballotpedia Profile: https://ballotpedia.org/Ted_Budd
GovTrack.us Legislative Record: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ted_budd/412711
ProShots Range & Training: https://proshotsrange.com/
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