Conservatives scrolling social media this week probably did a double take, rubbed their eyes, then checked again just to make sure reality had not finally gone off the rails. A niqab-wearing Muslim woman named Lakeshia M. Alston has officially filed to run as a Republican for North Carolina State Senate District 22 in the 2026 election. Yes, Republican. And yes, this is real.
The situation exploded after conservative commentator Eric Daugherty shared screenshots of Alston’s filing documents along with her official candidate photo. The image shows her standing between the American flag and the North Carolina flag, fully covered in a black niqab with only her eyes visible. The filing came through the Durham County Board of Elections and quickly went viral, with conservatives openly questioning whether this was a legitimate candidacy or a deliberate political stunt.
Here is where things get more interesting. Alston is currently the only Republican filed in the race. And her voter history reads like a straight-ticket Democrat brochure. Records from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show she has been voting in Democratic primaries and general elections since at least 2008. That includes Democratic primary participation in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. That is not a phase. That is a pattern.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2005272372514107682
Third-party databases such as VoterRecords.com list her as a registered Democrat at a Durham address going back well over a decade. Under North Carolina law, candidates must be affiliated with their chosen party for at least 90 days before filing. Since Alston filed on December 17, she would have needed to switch to Republican by mid-September. That timeline suggests a very recent flip, conveniently after the 2024 election, when she still voted as a Democrat.
This is not something that can happen accidentally. Unaffiliated voters cannot file in party primaries. She had to formally register as a Republican to pull this off. Yet there is no explanation, no statement, no platform, and no visible campaign. There is no website. There are no policy positions. Her X account, @LakeshiaAlston1, appears abandoned, with two followers and an outdated photo from more than a decade ago.
District 22, which covers parts of Durham County, is deep blue territory. Democrats already have two candidates in their primary, including incumbent Sophia Chitlik and challenger DeDreana Freeman. Republicans, meanwhile, are staring at the possibility of an unopposed primary win by someone with a lifelong Democratic voting record.
This is exactly how mischief happens in low-turnout primaries. If Alston cruises through unopposed, Republicans are left with a terrible choice, back a nominee who does not reflect their values or effectively surrender the seat. The North Carolina Republican Party has not commented yet, but grassroots conservatives are already demanding answers.
If this smells like an infiltration tactic, that is because it does. And if the GOP does not take this seriously and fast, they are going to learn a painful lesson about complacency.
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