10 things about Winston-Salem, North Carolina’s Ted Budd

Theodore Paul “Ted” Budd was born in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States to Dr. Richard P. Budd and Sylvia S. Budd. In 1963, Richard graduated from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

BIOGRAPHY

Ted is a member of the Republican Party. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. In 1990, he graduated from Davie County High School in Mocksville, Davie County, North Carolina.
2. In 1991, he and Amy Kathryn “Kate” Adams Budd met on a mission to the Soviet Union.
3. In 1994, he married Kate and he graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, Watauga County, North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
4. In 1998, he graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, USA with a master’s degree in theology.
5. In 2007, he graduated from the Wake Forest University School of Business in Winston-Salem with a master’s degree in business administration.
6. In August 2013, the Richard P. and Sylvia Budd Endowed Scholarship was provided to High Point University through a deferred pledge agreement by his parents.
7. From January 3, 2017 to January 3, 2023, he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina’s 13th district.
8. In 2020, he voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the U.S. president from withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan without approval from the U.S. Congress.
9. In 2022, he was elected a U.S. senator from North Carolina.
10. On October 21, 2024, he turned 53.

TIMELINE

Ted owns a gun store in Rural Hall, Forsyth County. He and Kate home-schooled their three children.

2021

• On April 23, 2021, he talked to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, USA about his prospective U.S. Senate candidacy.

2023

• On January 3, 2023, he was sworn in as North Carolina’s junior U.S. senator.
• In March 2023, he introduced the Seeing Objects at Altitude Regularly Act (SOAR).

2024

• On August 14, 2024, he delivered remarks before Trump speaking at a campaign event at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina.
• On October 22, 2024, he spoke onstage during a campaign event with Trump in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina.

2025

• In January 2025, he and his fellow U.S. senators Angus King, John Curtis, John Fetterman, Mark Warner and Peter Welch.