A reissued criminal summons was served to LaKesha Womack — the Democratic candidate running against Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Moore for North Carolina's 14th Congressional District seat — while she was attending a political gathering at Polk County High School on a recent Sunday.
Womack faces a Class H felony charge alleging that she kept a rented Toyota Corolla beyond its return date in 2019. A court hearing has been scheduled for the week following the Nov. 3 general election.
Court documents indicate the summons was reissued and delivered on Oct. 11, with the underlying charge tied to Womack's purported failure to return a 2019 Toyota Corolla — rented through Budget Car Rental — by the Oct. 23, 2019 deadline, as a news outlet has reported. According to the court filing, the vehicle carried a declared worth of $20,000.
Under North Carolina statutes, deliberately keeping a rented motor vehicle worth more than $4,000 without returning it carries a Class H felony designation. A summons tied to the matter was first filed on Jan. 14, 2020. Mecklenburg County's attempt to serve that initial summons came back unsuccessful on Feb. 13, 2020, and the matter went without activity for a period of years before proceedings were eventually resumed.
According to a report from the Tryon Daily Bulletin, legal papers were delivered to Womack at the Polk County gathering that Sunday. A court date has been set at Mecklenburg County District Court, with the hearing slated for 9 a.m. on Nov. 10 — seven days after voters go to the polls.
The allegation has yet to be adjudicated, and the broadcasting outlet has noted that no guilty verdict has been handed down.
Posting a video online, Womack explained that the rental car had not been returned by the required date, pointing to her housing situation at the time — she had no fixed address where court papers could reach her. Her position, as conveyed at the time, was that the matter had reached a conclusion and that any criminal proceedings still connected to it had not come to her attention.
Womack is represented by legal counsel, though questions about whether the vehicle was retrieved and whether she intends to contest the charge have gone unanswered. She directed voters toward her policy agenda rather than the pending legal matter, noting that the timing — weeks before the Nov. 3 vote — warranted scrutiny, and stated her commitment to pursuing what she described as an economy that works for everyone.
Speaking at a public forum, Moore — who previously served as North Carolina's House speaker before joining Congress following his 2024 election — addressed the matter directly, stating that uniform standards of justice apply to everyone, while also expressing his hope that Womack would find a path through the legal proceedings ahead.
Six counties — Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland, Rutherford, Polk, and Burke — each contribute territory to the boundaries of North Carolina's 14th Congressional District. Federal law requires congressional candidates to reside within their state but places no obligation on them to live inside the specific district they seek to represent. That point arose in connection with Womack's campaign after a news outlet reported that a home purchased in north Charlotte fell outside the district boundaries, while the south Charlotte address listed as her registered voting residence was being offered for rent.
Among the policy positions Womack has put forward, health care stands as a stated pillar of her campaign, a thread running independently of the active legal proceedings. Her backing for a strengthened Affordable Care Act came up alongside details about her run for office during an appearance on PBS.
Polling data from a broadcast news outlet placed healthcare access, the cost of living, and school financing among the issues drawing the most attention from voters following the contest.
Womack's scheduled court appearance falls after ballots will have already been counted in the 14th District race, meaning the felony proceedings and the election timetable do not overlap — voters will have cast their ballots before any ruling is handed down. The outstanding charge adds an additional dimension of public scrutiny to a contest spanning six counties that has already been drawing considerable attention.
