Funeral held for Dr. Greg Brannon, North Carolina tea party favorite and ex-Senate candidate

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CARY, N.C. (AP) — A funeral was held over the weekend for Dr. Greg Brannon, a physician in North Carolina and past favorite of political conservatives who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate and House in the 2010s.

Brannon, an early personality in the tea party movement, delivered babies over 27 years as an OB-GYN. He died July 27 at his home at age 64, according to an obituary posted by Wake Funeral & Cremation. Funeral home director Britt Paynter confirmed Brannon's death on Wednesday but said he couldn't provide information about a cause.

Brannon, from Cary, billed himself as a constitutional conservative when he sought the 2014 Republican nomination for Senate. He finished as the May 2014 primary runner-up to Thom Tillis with 27% of the vote. Tillis went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan that November.

Brannon also finished second to then-U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in the March 2016 GOP primary. Three months later, he ran for a Raleigh-area congressional seat but lost in the party primary.

Born in a Los Angeles suburb to a single mother, Brannon attended the University of South California and ultimately finished medical school at a Chicago school. Eventually he moved to North Carolina and went into private practice in 1993.

Later in life Brannon was the medical director and founder of a hormone replacement therapy company called Optimal Bio. Messages from mourners on the funeral home website recalled his medical work, in particular during complicated and challenging pregnancies.

Brannon's funeral was held last Saturday at Cross Assembly Church in Raleigh. Brannon became an evangelical Christian as a young adult.

“Greg’s goals were to teach people about the love of Jesus Christ, adore Jody, pour into his family, and make people’s lives healthier and happier,” his posted obituary read.

Survivors include his wife, Jody, seven children and two grandchildren, according to the obituary.