TV networks ignore Dem Cal Cunningham's scandalous affair rocking NC Senate race
Polls show Cunningham leading GOP incumbent Thom Tillis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democrat Cal Cunningham's campaign to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate has been rocked in recent days by the revelation of an extramarital affair, but none of the major news networks have addressed the controversy on-air.
On Friday, Cunningham's campaign confirmed that a series of text messages suggesting a relationship between the married Cunningham and Arlene Guzman Todd, a public relations strategist from California, were authentic. The texts had been published by a conservative website, NationalFile.com.
On Monday, Cunningham pulled out of a town hall event hours after Guzman Todd told the Associated Press that she and Cunningham had an "intimate encounter" in July. In text messages to her friend, Guzman Todd said she was intimate with Cunningham in his home, which she later characterized as “weird.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In another exchange, Guzman Todd indicated that she was frustrated by the limited attention that he showed her, writing: “I’m just going to send to his opponent his naked photos. That will teach him.”
MORE EVIDENCE OF CAL CUNNINGHAM AFFAIR ROCKS NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE
Meanwhile, Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, disclosed Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus. While the Republican's diagnosis has been widely covered by CNN and MSNBC as part of their roundup of those of have contracted the virus on President Trump's circle, the liberal networks offered zero coverage of Cunningham's scandal on Monday and Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The three broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, also skipped the Democrat's controversy in both their morning and evening news programs.
In a statement, Guzman Todd apologized for the “pain and embarrassment, and disrespect I’ve caused to my immediate family, loved ones, and everyone affected by this situation.”
“A few months back, I displayed a lapse in judgment by engaging in a relationship with Cal Cunningham during a period of marital separation,” Guzman Todd said. “The relationship spanned several months and consisted primarily of a series of text exchanges and an in-person encounter." She did not elaborate, but her text messages described the intimacy.
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Cunningham, 47, was a star recruit for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He's been a fundraising powerhouse. He also checks important boxes: He’s a veteran, a father, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, a lawyer and a former state senator.
Tillis has been seizing on Cunningham's controversy as the challenger had been enjoying a comfortable lead against the sitting Republican in recent polls.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Evie Fordham and The Associated Press contributed to this report.