Rodney Moore withdrew as a candidate for a North Carolina House of Representatives seat due to health concerns.

Before bowing out of a comeback campaign for a North Carolina House seat, Rodney Moore was intent on clearing the air over allegations of financial impropriety.

Moore, a Charlotte Democrat who served in the House from 2010-18, announced he was stepping aside due to unspecified health concerns. His name will remain on the ballot, however.

“My health and my family are my top priorities,” he tweeted Saturday. “Thanks to those of you who have been supportive of my efforts.”

Moore told The Post in an April 14 phone interview from a Charlotte hospital that he never used campaign funds for personal use. He was indicted in 2019 on nine counts of filing false campaign reports regarding more than $141,000 in contributions and spending. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of making false statements under oath and sentenced to five months’ probation.

“I never took any money,” he said. “What was discussed was that I didn’t report a lot of money that I missed that [a political action committee] set up and supposedly donated to me, so that was an innuendo that I spent money for personal reasons. If I did, it was solely for the purpose of running for office.”

Moore, who lost to Nasif Majeed in the Democratic primary, blamed the allegations and “heavy handed” media coverage for the defeat. Telling his side of the story was part of his campaign strategy.

“I just wanted to clear that up, because one of the things that I value is my integrity, and my word and my name,” he said. “It seems that my name is like just trashed in the media simply because at the time, I couldn’t respond to anything because of the advice of my legal counsel. It kind of left a gaping hole with the perception of what I did, what I was actually accused of and eventually what I actually pled guilty to – filing a false campaign report.

“[There were] no fines, no call for restitution. My contention is if I’d done all the things they said, a (district attorney) would have clearly charged me with another offense, or at the very least would have asked for restitution and it never happened. It was clear the evidence didn’t support what was out there.”

Moore was running in the Democratic primary for House District 112, which is redrawn to encompass east Charlotte and a larger swath of Matthews. Moore is one of four candidates in a field that includes former state Rep. Tricia Cotham, Jay Holman and Yolanda Holmes. Moore, who pointed to his record of backing the extension of homeowner protections, school choice and health insurance benefits for the self-employed as policy accomplishments in addition to opposing so-called “stand your ground” laws.

“I’ve been very transparent and forthright about what happened,” he said, “but I want people to really begin to judge me not so much about what happened in that incident, but just look at my total record, the eight years that I had in the General Assembly.”

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