Before running for Wayne County Superior Court judge, Billy Strickland II was a bull rider turned farmer turned beaver trapper turned lawyer. He was also a frequent political donor.
Strickland’s financial contributions to Republican candidates continued after he filed to run for office in December 2023, records compiled by Open Secrets show. In 2024, he gave more than $15,000 to support presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, and Hal Weatherman, who ran for lieutenant governor.
In the name of protecting the impartiality, integrity, and independence of the judiciary, the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits such giving. But an analysis by The Assembly finds it’s a prohibition many judges and candidates aren’t following…