Source: Editorial Board
Two lawyers with vastly different backgrounds and beliefs are battling to represent North Carolina House District 35, which covers parts of northern Wake County including the fast-growing Wake Forest and Rolesville areas.
Democratic Rep. Terence Everitt currently represents the district, but instead of seeking reelection, he is running for state Senate in District 18.
Voters in HD-35 elected Everitt in 2018 and have since reelected him twice. If they are looking for someone with similar policy positions to take over his seat, they should vote for the candidate he has endorsed – Democrat Evonne Hopkins.
Hopkins, a married mother of two, is a small business owner with a successful family law practice. She owns and operates the Raleigh Law Center in North Raleigh and is a North Carolina Board Certified Family Law Specialist and Certified Parent Coordinator. Hopkins volunteers with “The Child’s Advocate,” a project of Legal Aid, representing children in high-conflict custody cases in Wake and Durham counties. She received Legal Aid’s 2023 Pro Bono Hero Award for her work on those cases.
Her opponent in the race is Republican Mike Schietzelt, a 38-year-old married father of four who served in the U.S. Marine Corps as part of the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and currently works as a litigation attorney at a Raleigh law firm.
What many voters are likely unaware of is that Schietzelt (pronounced Sheet-zelt) has ties to one of the most important behind-the-scenes figures involved in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He also takes pride in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade because he helped draft and submit an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health to the Supreme Court – the ruling that overturned Roe.
The brief he worked on asked the court to “restore our constitutional traditions and return to the people the role of determining abortion-related policy.”
Schietzelt was even quoted in the victory press release after Dobbs was overturned.
In a sharp contrast to Schietzelt, Hopkins is very clear in her support for Roe and protecting women’s reproductive rights. She also believes in a strong public education system that is fully funded and supports educators and staff with fair pay and the tools needed to succeed. Hopkins says that access to health care is a fundamental right. She supports local businesses as well as smart growth and development in our communities, and she has pledged to fight for voting rights and against gerrymandering.
Hopkins and Schietzelt have very few similarities and will surely represent the district in very different ways. Schietzelt will be a rubber-stamp for the NCGOP’s extremist policies because he’s a man who has tied himself to Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and has received endorsements from right-wing organizations like The Calvin Coolidge Project, Americans for Prosperity, Liberty First Grassroots and the NC Values Coalition.
Hopkins will fight for the personal rights and freedoms of her constituents, such as a woman’s right to choose their reproductive health care, the right to a quality education, the right to vote and to be fairly represented, and the right to have clean air and water. She has been endorsed by a long list of organizations including EMILY’s List, Lillian’s List of NC, NC AFL-CIO, Sierra Club NC, NC League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic, and Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.
Early voting begins on Oct. 17 and ends at 3 p.m. on Nov. 2. The deadline to register online to vote has passed, however during the early voting period, you can register in person when you go to vote. ID is now required for voting in North Carolina, and you can view a list of approved IDs here.
