GOP leaders rally Rockingham County supporters as energy policy and Senate race take center stage

Diane Parnell, chair of the Rockingham County Republican Party, opened the Lincoln-Reagan dinner with welcoming remarks and an invocation before turning the program over to a series of elected officials and candidates.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, introduced as a private-sector energy entrepreneur and the administration’s energy secretary, tied energy policy to what he described as national prosperity and U.S. competitiveness. "We are burning. We are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere," Wright said, acknowledging rising CO2 while arguing that ‘‘oil, gas and coal’’ remain central to global energy and that the United States has become a leading producer. He criticized net-zero policies in Europe as having pushed industrial capacity overseas and said the U.S. should use its energy advantage to reindustrialize the country.

Wright also recounted his own background in energy innovation and said that expanding domestic energy production could lift wages and lower costs. He framed the policy debate as directly relevant to voters’ economic and security interests.

State Auditor Dave Bullock used his remarks to describe recent and ongoing oversight work. Bullock said auditors "just found $5,100,000 in stolen money at North Carolina A and T University 2 weeks ago," and that his office has identified about "34,000 dead folks on the voter rolls," which he said the office is working to remove. Bullock described follow-up audits of the DMV and Medicaid as priorities and said he will hold people accountable where fraud is found.

Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, appealed for local volunteers and donations and framed the coming race as consequential for Senate control. "We have to win this race because that American dream is absolutely under assault right now," Whatley said, attacking policies he attributed to Democrats on crime and education and warning that the contest would attract large outside spending.

Why it matters: Speakers linked local campaigning and national policy. Wright presented energy strategy as an economic argument for the county’s voters; Whatley framed the Senate contest as pivotal to preserving the party’s agenda; Bullock’s disclosures signaled oversight activity that could have local and statewide implications.

The program also included ceremonial elements — an invocation by Pastor Nathan DeFalco and the presentation of a Bronze Star to the family of a local veteran — and closed with a group singing of "God Bless America." The organizers did not announce new formal policy actions or binding endorsements during the dinner; speakers focused on persuasion, fundraising and party organization ahead of the 2026 elections.