LaKesha Womack won her North Carolina congressional seat on Tuesday. Next week, she’s due in court on a felony charge.
Womack, a Democrat, flipped North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District by defeating Republican Rep. Tim Moore, part of a wave that saw more than 40 GOP-held House seats change hands in the midterms. Her court appearance on a felony car theft charge is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Charlotte.
The charge stems from a rental car, valued at about $20,000, that Womack is accused of failing to return in 2019. A criminal summons was issued against her in January 2020 but went unserved and was returned the following month, according to the Charlotte Observer. It sat unresolved for years until Oct. 11, when it was finally served to Womack at a campaign event in Polk County — weeks before Election Day.
The charge is a Class H felony, carrying a sentencing range of four months to more than three years in prison if she’s convicted.
It is not yet known whether the case will affect her swearing-in, scheduled for Jan. 3. A felony conviction would not automatically bar Womack from serving in Congress, but House rules call for lawmakers sentenced to two or more years to step back from committee assignments and party leadership roles. Removing a sitting member of Congress requires a two-thirds vote of the full House, even after a felony conviction.
Womack has not given a direct account of what happened with the rental car. In a statement released last month, after the summons was served and attack ads from Moore’s campaign began circulating, she said:
“Over the past few weeks, allegations involving me have drawn significant media attention and attack ads from Friends of Tim Moore. Candidates for public office should be held accountable and voters deserve transparency. Throughout this campaign, I have emphasized accountability and affordability. I believe every candidate and elected official should be evaluated by consistent standards, including their record of public service, their decisions in office, and their responsiveness to the people they represent. Accountability, however, must be grounded in facts, fairness, and due process rather than speculation or sensationalism.”
Womack has also said, according to the Charlotte Observer, that she suffered a medical emergency requiring hospitalization and that she was homeless around the time the alleged theft occurred. She has not explained how either circumstance connects to the unreturned rental car.
Womack’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
