TEL: (916) 476-6647 // FAX: (916) 720-0334 // WEB: www.mbpublicaffairs.com John (JD) Wooten IV NC State Senate (SD 24) Background Research Report May 2020 1415 L Street #1260, Sacramento, CA 95814 SD 24 – JD Wooten 5/27/2020 Version Summary of Chapters SECTION A: BACKGROUND & PUBLIC RECORDS ............................................................. 11 A.1 – General Background ............................................................................................................. 12 A.2 – Social Media/Internet Video Profile .................................................................................... 16 A.3 – Voter Registration, Voting History & SD 24 Residency Issues ........................................... 18 A.4 – SEIs & Business Filings ....................................................................................................... 30 A.5 – Property Records – Wooten only Owns Property Outside of SD 24 .................................... 34 A.6 – Other Public Records ........................................................................................................... 43 A.7 – Record as an Attorney / 2018 Allegations of Representing Illegal Immigrants .................. 47 SECTION B: POLITICAL HISTORY ......................................................................................... 61 B.1 – Summary of Wooten’s 2020 SD 24 Campaign ...................................................................... 62 B.2 – Wooten’s 2020 Campaign Is Part of Democratic Efforts to Flip the NC Senate ................. 66 B.3 – Wooten Unsuccessfully Ran for Senate in 2018 – to Break the GOP’s Supermajority ......... 70 B.4 – Supported by Liberal Super PACs from California and Massachusetts .............................. 72 B.5 – Summary of Campaign Contributions Made to Others – $3,480 to Democrats .................. 78 B.6 – Contributed to Biden, Harris, O’Rourke & Buttigieg 2020 Presidential Campaigns.......... 84 B.7 – Wooten Is a Partisan Anti-Trump Democrat ....................................................................... 91 B.8 – Other Political History ......................................................................................................... 95 SECTION C: TAX, FISCAL & MEDICAID EXPANSION ISSUES .......................................... 97 C.1 – Criticized Prior NC Tax Cuts & Called for “Trying to Find More Money” ........................ 98 C.2 – Praised Ultra-Liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tax Policy ............................... 100 C.3 – Support for Medicaid Expansion ....................................................................................... 104 C.4 – Opposition to North Carolina Having a 2020 State Budget ............................................... 111 SECTION D: IMMIGRATION & VOTER ID ISSUES ............................................................114 D.1 – Opposed the 2018 Voter ID Constitutional Amendment ....................................................115 D.2 – Other Immigration Issues ...................................................................................................117 1 SD 24 – JD Wooten 5/27/2020 Version SECTION E: OTHER ISSUES .................................................................................................. 124 E.1 – Opposes “Burning Fossil Fuels” ........................................................................................ 125 E.2 – Ties to Environmental Groups that Support the Green New Deal .................................... 126 E.3 – Contributions from Trial Lawyers ...................................................................................... 133 E.4 – Endorsed by Planned Parenthood / Abortion Issues ........................................................ 140 E.5 – LGTB Issues....................................................................................................................... 143 E.6 – Opposition to Education Reform ....................................................................................... 146 E.7 – Ties to NC Association of Educators, which Opposed Key GOP State Legislation ......... 149 E.8 – Drug Legalization / Public Safety ..................................................................................... 152 E.9 – Opposition to Trade War with China ................................................................................. 158 APPENDIX A: Contributions Made to Others ........................................................................... 159 APPENDIX B: “JD Wooten IV’s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test),” VoteSmart.org .... 162 2 SD 24 – JD Wooten 5/27/2020 Version Narrative Table of Contents SECTION A: BACKGROUND & PUBLIC RECORDS ............................................................. 11 A.1 – General Background ............................................................................................................. 12 Identifying Information – Born in 1985; Resides in McLeansville, NC ......................................................... 12 Campaign Biography – Wooten Is an Intellectual Property Attorney and Air Force Veteran ................... 12 Law Firm Biography – Wooten Practices in Law Firm Womble Bond Dickinson’s Intellectual Property Group......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Professional and Political Timeline – Previously Ran for SD 24 in 2018 and Lost ...................................... 13 Military Service Records Received from the Department of the Air Force Confirm that Wooten Graduated from the Air Force Academy, Served Active Duty for Five Years as a “Commander’s Action Office,” Retired as a Captain, and Received Several Medals ............................................................................ 14 A.2 – Social Media/Internet Video Profile .................................................................................... 16 Summary of Social Media Accounts ..................................................................................................................... 16 Summary of Online Videos about/Featuring Wooten ...................................................................................... 16 A.3 – Voter Registration, Voting History & SD 24 Residency Issues ........................................... 18 State Board of Elections Records Show that Wooten Is Currently Registered as a Democrat, Has Been Registered to Vote in Guilford County since August 2016, Was Registered in Wake County from 2004- 2016, and Has Voted as a Democrat (2017-Present) and as a Republican (2016) ........................................ 18 State Board of Elections Records Show that Wooten Has Voted in Seven of Eight Presidential Preference Primary Elections, Primary Elections, and General Elections since November 2012 – Wooten Only Voted in One Statewide Election in North Carolina Prior to November 2012 while He Was Serving in the U.S. Air Force ........................................................................................................................ 20 Guilford County Board of Elections Records Show that Wooten Registered at His Current Address (4817 Redland Ct.) in October 2019 – Address Is Located in SD 24, but Wooten Does Not Own this Property ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Guilford County Board of Elections Records Show that Wooten Was Registered at Two Prior Addresses (1607 Hargrove Dr. and 6761 Cobble Creek Rd., Apt. 2D) during 2018 while He Ran for SD 24 the First Time – Addresses Are in SD 24 but Wooten Does Not Own Either Property ...................... 22 Guilford County Board of Elections Records Show that Wooten Was Registered at a Prior Address (204 Wilson St.) during 2016-2017 – Address Is Not in SD 24 and Wooten Has Owned this Property since January 2017.............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Wake County Board of Elections – Search for Records Pending ................................................................... 29 A.4 – SEIs & Business Filings ....................................................................................................... 30 Statements of Economic Interest (SEIs) – Wooten Has Filed SEIs as a Candidate for SD 24 in 2018 and 2020 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 30 3 SD 24 – JD Wooten 5/27/2020 Version On His 2020 Candidate SEI, Wooten Disclosed Owning Property, His Law Firm Salary, and One Non- Profit Affiliation ....................................................................................................................................................... 30 Summary of Business Filings – Wooten Has Been an Officer of One Dissolved Company ...................... 33 A.5 – Property Records – Wooten only Owns Property Outside of SD 24 .................................... 34 Current Property Ownership – Wooten Owns Two Residential Properties in Guilford County which He Purchased in January 2017 and March 2019; No Delinquent Property Tax Payments ................................ 34 Neither of the Properties that Wooten Currently Owns Are Located in SD 24 ..........................................