Lying about candidates' positions is a known Democrat tactic, and they often use dark money from 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations to do that. Those organizations generally do not have to publicly disclose their donors, making it easy to hide exactly who is funding these attacks.
One of these groups is the "American Forge Coalition," which is sending out fake mailers to voters in North Carolina's 1st Congressional District in an effort to smear the Republican candidate Col. Laurie Buckhout. This isn't the first time this has happened, either. In 2024, Democrats used the same tactics to boost a third party candidate. The Hill reported on these "opaque" donations that raised "several red flags" in 2024, and so did the New York Post, which noted the tactics were used to undercut Republicans in close races.
This time, the mailers sent by "American Forge Coalition" are blatantly lying about Buckhout's position on abortion, falsely claiming that she supports allowing abortion up to birth.
This is false. Col. Buckhout is pro-life.
This is the front of the mailer with the outrageous claim:
The back of the mailer instructs voters to call Buckhout to "tell Buckhout to stop betraying the unborn."
These despicable tactics come just after SBA Pro-Life America announced a $500,000 campaign to call out Democrats Don Davis and Jamie Ager's extreme abortion positions. Davis supports sending our tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, and Jamie Ager supports abortion up to birth, and at the expense of taxpayers.
SBA Pro-Life America endorsed Col. Buckhout in NC-01, saying she's "committed to the fight for life and will stand strong for unborn children, women, and families."
Recommended
— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) February 23, 2026A retired Army colonel, wife, and mom, @lauriebuckhout has lived a life of service before self.
She’s committed to the fight for life and will stand strong for unborn children, women, and families.
With NC-01 redrawn and now a key flip opportunity, Laurie is the leader this… pic.twitter.com/eHDus8TfYe
Buckhout said she was "honored" for this endorsement as the "strongest pro-life candidate" in the race.
Honored to be endorsed as the strongest pro-life candidate running in this race! I will fearlessly defend precious, unborn life as your member of Congress. https://t.co/uywMvdho0f
— Laurie Buckhout 🎖🪖🇺🇸🦅 (@lauriebuckhout) February 23, 2026
Voters in NC-01 should not fall for such underhanded tactics. Col. Buckhout is demonstrably pro-life and Democrats, hiding behind untraceable dark money, are lying about her record to confuse and discourage voters in a key race for control of the House.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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