House candidate Charles Taylor didn't disclose property where video gambling was reported

Charles Taylor, the Republican nominee for North Carolina House District 51 (Lee and Moore counties), did not list a Sanford property where The Assembly reported video gambling machines operating on his state ethics disclosure, according to reporting by Bryan Anderson published Oct. 11, 2026, and updated Oct. 12 [1]. Lee County tax records show Taylor bought that property on Dec. 31, 2025 [18]. The Assembly reported three other properties missing from the disclosure and said all were acquired in December 2025; county records show Taylor acquired one of them in 2017 and co-acquired the other two in 2013 [1][18][19]. State records also show that an LLC Taylor formed in December 2025 bought two other Sanford parcels on Dec. 31, 2025 [18][22].

Taylor told The Assembly he would amend it [1]. No amendment was on file with the State Ethics Commission as of about 6:15 p.m. ET Oct. 12 [20]. North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) told The Assembly it has not charged Taylor with any criminal offense [1].

No source reviewed links the property to the super PAC spending described below. Taylor faces unaffiliated candidate April Montgomery in the Nov. 3 general election [1][5].

The Tramway Rd. property

Lee County tax records list Charles McLamb Taylor as owner of 2101 Tramway Rd. in Sanford, with a sale date of Dec. 31, 2025, a price of $60,000 coded "not open market," and Smith Residential Builder LLC as seller (Deed Book 1852, Page 592) [18]. That matches The Assembly's report of a December 2025 purchase for $60,000 [1].

According to The Assembly, the sign in front of the building "doesn't name the establishment inside. Instead, it says, 'WARNING: THERE IS NOTHING HERE WORTH DYING FOR.'" [1] The Assembly reported that an employee described "some of the 22 video lottery machines on site," which "appear to be luck-based slot games," and that the location did not use the sweepstakes-style workarounds some operators rely on [1]. Another employee said Taylor "doesn't come here," the article said [1]. The sign, the visit and the machine count are reported by Anderson only (UNVERIFIED independently); his Oct. 11 X post repeats the sign text [6]. No source reviewed found any gambling-industry connection to the property.

The other properties

The Assembly reported that 1516 Wayne St. in Sanford and two single-family homes in Snow Hill, Greene County, were also omitted, and that all were acquired in December 2025; Taylor says he has rented out the Wayne St. and Snow Hill properties, according to the article [1]. County records give different dates for both.

Wayne St. (DISPUTED): Lee County tax records show Taylor acquired 1516 Wayne St., together with an adjoining parcel, on March 28, 2017, for $100,000 (Deed Book 1453, Page 777) [18].

Snow Hill (DISPUTED): A Greene County deed recorded Feb. 20, 2013 (Book 669, Pages 285-286), conveys two lots in Snow Hill to Daniel L. Taylor Jr. and Charles M. Taylor; no price is stated [19].

ANALYSIS: Either The Assembly refers to different parcels or its dates differ from the county records; Groksinews has not resolved which.

LLC parcels: North Carolina Secretary of State records show Hawkins-Veterans Way QOZB LLC was formed Dec. 19, 2025, with Charles M. Taylor as founder and registered agent [22]. Lee County records show the LLC acquired two Sanford parcels, 1308 Hawkins Ave. and a Veterans Way lot, on Dec. 31, 2025, for $165,000 from the same seller as the Tramway Rd. property [18].

The ethics disclosure

Taylor's statement of economic interest, filed Feb. 12, 2026 (State Ethics Commission document 187533), answers "Yes" to owning North Carolina real estate worth $10,000 or more and lists one entry: "Charles McLamb Taylor (Self), 100.00%, Sanford, Lee" [20]. The form asks only for city and county, not street addresses. The statement lists no Greene County property, answers "No" to holding an interest in a non-public company or LLC, and lists 2025 income over $5,000 from "PPI" (television, wages) and the City of Sanford (salary), with no rental income [20].

ANALYSIS: Whether the single "Sanford, Lee" line was meant to cover several Sanford parcels, and whether the co-owned Greene County lots and the LLC had to be listed for the 2025 period, are legal questions Groksinews has not resolved (UNVERIFIED); Ethics Commission guidance was not checked.

State law, G.S. 138A-24(a)(2)a., requires filers to list assets "with a value of at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000)," including "All real estate located in the State owned wholly or in part by the filing person" or immediate family [7]. Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political scientist, told The Assembly a lack of disclosure would "clearly" violate the state's ethics laws [1].

The Assembly's Oct. 12 update reported that a Lee County voter submitted a complaint to the Ethics Commission; executive director Jameson Marks declined to discuss specifics [1][6]. The complaint is UNVERIFIED independently.

Taylor's response

"I have invested locally in real estate for many years and continue to do so," Taylor told The Assembly in a statement. "I bought some new properties last December 31 and didn't include them on my economic interest statement for 2025 since the closing happened on the final day of the year." [1]

"This week," Taylor continued, "I'll amend my economic interest statement to include these new properties that I own. It's a great privilege to be a real estate investor, and I always endeavor to be a good, honest, and fair landlord." [1]

County records show that, of the properties discussed here, the Tramway Rd. property and the LLC's two parcels were acquired on Dec. 31, 2025 [18][22]. The Ethics Commission's search showed no amendment as of about 6:15 p.m. ET Oct. 12 [20].

The Assembly reported that Taylor's statement "didn't say whether he knew that gambling was taking place at his Tramway Road property" [1]. Taylor's comment on whether he knew about the gambling has not been obtained. Groksinews has not contacted Taylor.

Agency responses

"ALE has not charged Charles Taylor with any criminal offenses," ALE spokesperson Ashley Thornton told The Assembly, adding that the agency "cannot provide feedback on machines that have not been examined by our agents" [1]. Lee County Sheriff Brian Estes did not immediately respond, and the North Carolina Republican Party declined to comment, The Assembly reported [1].

State law bars operating or allowing the operation of video gaming machines (G.S. 14-306.1A(a)) and treats owning or leasing a building for gambling as a nuisance (G.S. 19-1(a)); for gambling nuisances, evidence that a defendant "knew or by the exercise of due diligence should have known" of the conduct constitutes proof of knowledge (G.S. 19-1.1) [7].

ANALYSIS: Nothing reviewed establishes that Taylor knew of the gambling, and no charge has been filed [1].

The super PAC money

FEC filings show (api.open.fec.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026) [2]:

• DK Crown Holdings Inc., a DraftKings entity, gave $2,000,000 to Win for America (WFA) on Nov. 18, 2025, WFA's only 2025 receipt.
• WFA gave $500,000 to American Conservative Fund (ACF) on Nov. 21, 2025, ACF's only 2025 receipt. ACF registered with the FEC on Nov. 18, 2025, as an independent-expenditure-only super PAC.
• Through June 30, 2026, WFA reported $72 million in receipts, all from sports-betting or gaming companies, including DK Crown and FanDuel Inc.
• Before the March 3 primary, WFA gave ACF a total of $13.6 million in five transfers (Nov. 21, 2025, to Feb. 20, 2026).

ACF spent $5,019,652 in North Carolina through June 30, 2026, according to TransparencyUSA's compilation of NCSBE data [8].

NCSBE independent-expenditure filings show ACF reported $64,736.90 in spending supporting Taylor coded to the House race in 2026, paid to PT Strategy LLC for mail (eight payments, Feb. 4-20), Red Dog, Inc. for text messages (Feb. 10-March 3), and Advocacy Marketing Partners for $24,900 in media (Feb. 20) [21]. That roughly matches the $68,000 figure in a Facebook post by "The Constitutional Advocate," as described in a screenshot relayed to Groksinews [9]. A separate ACF row, a $315,517.50 Del Cielo Media buy dated Feb. 19, 2026, names "TAYLOR CHARLES M" but is coded to a Senate race; its coding is unresolved, and Groksinews does not count it as HD51 spending [21]. The filings show no ACF spending against Womack [21].

The Daily Haymaker (Feb. 24, 2026) showed an HD51 mailer marked "Paid for by American Conservative Fund" [3]; the NCSBE filings do not show mailer content [21].

Who produced altered images of Womack is UNVERIFIED. Citizen Media News (Feb. 27, 2026), an outlet that endorsed her, attributed them to "the Taylor campaign," without citing a disclaimer [10]. Sandhills News (Mar. 1, 2026) quoted Taylor as saying he paid for his own mailers with his own funds (UNVERIFIED) [11].

ACF's filings declare the spending independent; no evidence of coordination with Taylor's campaign was found [21]. No response from Taylor or ACF on the spending was found.

Taylor's answer on iVoterGuide's candidate page to the statement "I support the expansion of gambling in my state." is displayed as "Neutral" (retrieved Oct. 12, 2026) [12]. Whether that is his own questionnaire answer or a rating assigned by iVoterGuide is UNVERIFIED.

The race

Taylor, a Sanford City Council member in the Ward 2 seat since 2007 (The Rant, Mar. 3, 2026) [4], won the March 3, 2026, Republican primary with 3,005 votes (54.16%) to 2,543 (45.84%) for Sherry Lynn Womack, a margin of 462 votes, according to certified NCSBE results [13]. Womack, chair of the Lee County Board of Education, is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, according to her campaign and to Carolina Journal and The News & Observer reporting from February 2021 [17]. "I can't control what outside PACs choose to do. What I can control is how I serve. My loyalty is to the people of Lee and Moore counties - not to gambling interests or political consultants," Womack told Citizen Media News (Feb. 27, 2026; UNVERIFIED beyond that outlet) [10].

Taylor carried Lee County; Womack, Moore (The Rant) [4]. The State Board certified the results on March 25, 2026, reporting no irregularities in audits [14].

Democrat Tashera Nichols McDuffie withdrew March 6, 2026; Montgomery qualified by petition (The Rant) [5]. The seat is open; Republican Rep. John Sauls is outgoing, The Assembly reported [1]. Sauls won in 2024 with 64.30% to 35.70% for Democrat Ginger Bauerband (NCSBE) [13]. Civitas rates the district R+11 (The Rant) [4].

No Trump endorsement in the race was found; the search was not exhaustive.

Online claims

Facebook posts by "The Constitutional Advocate" and the Barbecue Sentinel have raised questions about Taylor; their full contents are UNVERIFIED [9][15]. A Citizen Media News X post (Oct. 11, 2026) asserted ties between Taylor and other Republican figures based on college associations, offering no evidence, and Groksinews found no evidence of wrongdoing [16].

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Sources

[1] The Assembly, Bryan Anderson, "State House Candidate Owns Undisclosed Property Being Used for Video Gambling," Oct. 11, 2026, updated Oct. 12, 2026. https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/elections/charles-taylor-undisclosed-property-video-gambling/ [2] Federal Election Commission filings, Win for America (C00925586) and American Conservative Fund (C00927186), Schedules A and B, via api.open.fec.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026. [3] The Daily Haymaker, Feb. 24, 2026. [4] The Rant (rantnc.com), Mar. 3, 2026. [5] The Rant, Mar. 13, 2026 and Apr. 15, 2026; Ballotpedia; TheBallotBrief (NCSBE certified list read Sep. 7, 2026). [6] Bryan Anderson (@BryanRAnderson) on X, Oct. 11, 2026, 7:02 a.m. ET, https://x.com/bryanranderson/status/2109238078669729844 ; Oct. 12, 2026, 10:51 a.m. ET, https://x.com/BryanRAnderson/status/2109658339315482662 (corroboration by the reporter of his own story; not independent). [7] N.C. General Statutes 138A-24(a)(2)a., 19-1(a), 19-1.1, 14-306.1A(a); H999 bill history; ncleg.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026. [8] TransparencyUSA, American Conservative Fund North Carolina data through Jun. 30, 2026. [9] Facebook, "The Constitutional Advocate," posts (preview text only), story_fbid 1093968000027811, 1093918753366069, 1101884665902811; screenshot of an approx. Oct. 7, 2026 post as relayed to Groksinews (not seen). [10] Citizen Media News, "Gambling-Backed PAC Floods NC House District 51...," Feb. 27, 2026. [11] Sandhills News, Mar. 1, 2026. [12] iVoterGuide, https://ivoterguide.com/candidate/90009/race/24608/election/1371, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026. [13] NCSBE election results, https://er.ncsbe.gov (2026 primary; 2024 general); Decision Desk HQ. [14] NCSBE certification press release, Mar. 25, 2026. [15] Facebook, Barbecue Sentinel, https://www.facebook.com/BarbecueSentinel/posts/901789499270638 (preview only; author and date not retrieved). [16] Citizen Media News (@citizenmedianew) on X, Oct. 11, 2026, 11:02 a.m. ET, https://x.com/citizenmedianew/status/2109298649620488699 [17] Womack campaign website; Carolina Journal and The News & Observer, Feb. 2021. [18] Lee County tax records (sales) and GIS parcels, PINs 9641-55-8333-00 (2101 Tramway Rd.) and 9643-76-2633-00 (1516 Wayne St.), taxaccess.leecountync.gov and lee-arcgis.leecountync.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026. [19] Greene County Register of Deeds, deed Book 669, Pages 285-286, recorded Feb. 20, 2013 (parcels 0801156 and 0800789), retrieved Oct. 12, 2026; Greene County tax parcels (AGDonline ArcGIS), queried Oct. 12, 2026. [20] N.C. State Ethics Commission, Charles McLamb Taylor statement of economic interest, filed Feb. 12, 2026, DocID 187533, ethicssei.nc.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026 ~6:15 p.m. ET. [21] NCSBE campaign finance reports, American Conservative Fund independent-expenditure reports and 48-hour notices (Feb. 3-Mar. 4, 2026), cf.ncsbe.gov, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026. [22] N.C. Secretary of State business registration, Hawkins-Veterans Way QOZB LLC, SOSID 3193850, retrieved Oct. 12, 2026.