Democrat Candidate Served Criminal Summons at Campaign Rally

A Democrat candidate in North Carolina was notified during a Sunday campaign rally that she is facing felony charges.

LaKesha Womack, who is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Tim Moore (NC-14), has a charge going back seven years, according to The Charlotte Observer:

LaKesha Womack, the Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Moore in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District, was served with a criminal summons at a campaign rally Sunday in connection with a felony charge dating back nearly seven years.

Womack told The Charlotte Observer that she received the summons Oct. 11 while attending a rally in Polk County, two days after she said she first learned of the pending charge. The charge stems from a rental car that Womack allegedly failed to return in 2019, according to court records reviewed by the Observer.

Womack, who has retained an attorney, declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding the rental car. But she questioned why the case was brought to her attention just weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

“It feels like a terrible coincidence that my court date is scheduled the week after the election,” Womack said in an email Thursday. “I’m not an attorney so I don’t know how these things work, but I would hate to believe that this was brought forward to give my opponent an unfair advantage by implying I’m a felon.”

DEVELOPING: DEMOCRAT HIT WITH FELONY SUMMONS AT HER OWN RALLY! LaKesha Womack, the Democrat challenging Rep. Tim Moore in NC-14, was served at a campaign rally for allegedly never returning a rental car she picked up in 2019. She has responded on the record: “I would hate to believe that this was brought forward to give my opponent an unfair advantage by implying I’m a felon.” Asked if the car was ever returned, she declined to say. “I’m not an attorney so I don’t know how these things work.”

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 27, 2026

The charges stem from allegations that Womack kept a rental car longer than the agreed-upon term.

A criminal summons issued Jan. 14, 2020, alleges that Womack failed to return a 2019 Toyota Corolla rented from Budget Car Rental by an agreed-upon deadline of Oct. 23, 2019.

The document lists the vehicle’s value as $20,000. That figure represents the alleged value of the car, not the amount Womack owed the rental company. Under North Carolina law, willfully failing to return a rented motor vehicle valued at more than $4,000 is a Class H felony.

The summons was initially returned unserved in February 2020. Mecklenburg County court records show it was reissued and marked served Oct. 11, 2026, nearly seven years after the alleged incident.

Womack is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County District Court at 9 a.m. Nov. 10, one week after Election Day.

In a video posted online earlier this month, Womack acknowledged she failed to return the rental car on time. She said she was experiencing homelessness at the time and did not have a stable address where she could receive legal notices.

Womack said in the video she believed the matter was resolved and was unaware of the criminal proceedings.

In her email to the Observer, Womack said she first learned of the pending charge Oct. 9.

BREAKING: Documents pulled from the NC Courts government website show District 14 congressional candidate Lakesha Womack has a “pending” felony warrant for failure to return a rental car in 2019. Police records say Budget Car Rental rented a car to Womack on Oct. 7, 2019 and it was supposed be returned on Oct 23, 2019. Pics and links attached. https://t.co/4WZRvweFxM

— Brett Jensen WBT News (@Brett_Jensen) October 9, 2026

Womack said she is “not sure why it took so long to bring the issue to my attention” and that she has retained legal representation.

There is no recent polling in this race, but a Ragnar Research Partners survey conducted early in the year showed Moore with an eight-point lead over Womack.

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