LaKesha Womack, the Democratic nominee seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Moore in North Carolina's 14th Congressional District, was served with a reissued criminal summons while attending a political rally at Polk County High School this past Sunday. The pending Class H felony charge accuses her of failing to return a rented Toyota Corolla back in 2019, with her court appearance now set for a week after the Nov. 3 general election.
The summons was reissued and served on Oct. 11, according to Carolina Journal, which reports the charge stems from Womack's alleged failure to return a 2019 Toyota Corolla rented from Budget Car Rental by Oct. 23, 2019. The summons lists the vehicle's stated value at $20,000. North Carolina law classifies willfully failing to return a hired motor vehicle valued above $4,000 as a Class H felony, and the original summons in the case was issued back on Jan. 14, 2020.
That first summons never reached her. It was returned unserved by Mecklenburg County on Feb. 13, 2020, per the same account, leaving the case dormant for years before it resurfaced this month. The Tryon Daily Bulletin confirmed Womack was served while attending the Polk County rally Sunday, placing the moment squarely in the middle of her campaign's final stretch.
A Case That Sat Dormant For Years
Womack is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County District Court at 9 a.m. on Nov. 10 — one week after Election Day. The charge remains pending, and the Carolina Journal account stresses that it is not a conviction. In an online video, Womack acknowledged failing to return the rental car on time but said she was homeless at the time and had no stable address to receive legal notices. She also said she believed the matter had been resolved and was unaware of ongoing criminal proceedings tied to it.
Womack has an attorney, though she has declined to say whether the vehicle was ever returned or recovered, or whether she intends to contest the charge. She has also questioned why the case came to her attention just weeks before the Nov. 3 election, and she's urged voters to focus on her policy positions rather than the pending matter, saying she would keep advocating for, as she put it, an economy that works for everyone.
Moore Responds, Campaign Presses On
Moore, a former North Carolina House speaker first elected to Congress in 2024, addressed the case directly. “I think everyone should be held to the same standard of justice,” he said, according to a report, adding that he wished Womack well in navigating the legal matter.
North Carolina's 14th Congressional District spans parts of Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland, Rutherford, Polk and Burke counties. Congressional candidates are required to live in their state but not necessarily within the district they're running to represent — a distinction that has come up in Womack's campaign, which, per WBTV reporting, purchased a home in north Charlotte outside the district while her registered voting address in south Charlotte was listed for rent.
Health Care Front And Center On The Trail
Away from the legal questions, Womack has made health care a campaign priority. She supports strengthening the Affordable Care Act and discussed her campaign in a PBS interview. Health care, affordability and school funding have also been named as top concerns among voters in the race, per a report from WCNC.
The timing puts the felony case on a collision course with the campaign calendar: Womack's court date falls after ballots are already cast, meaning voters in the 14th District will decide the race before the legal question is addressed in court. As later reported by The Charlotte Observer, the pending charge adds a new layer of scrutiny to a race already drawing attention across the district's six counties.
