Source: Democracy Docket
North Carolina’s governor race is becoming the most watched in the country. A recent poll from Quinnipiac University shows Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, at 52% among registered voters and Republican Mark Robinson, who serves as lieutenant governor, behind with 44%.
AG Stein’s lead comes as new tax disclosures and discriminatory attacks towards Black women have put Robinson back in the national spotlight.
“In the governor’s race, a stunning contrast in values, experience, and messaging is on display in a race that sees the Democrat ahead,” wrote Tim Malloy, a polling analyst for Quinnipiac University, in a statement.
Since the March primary, both candidates have shared their priority issues and visions for the state.
Robinson has relied on a platform of hate and divisive politics surrounding immigration, abortion bans, divesting from public education, and loosening gun restrictions.
The Republican candidate doesn’t shy away from inflammatory statements, saying victims in school shootings were “media prosti-tot” for supporting firearm regulations, attacking influential women with vulgar terms, quoting Hitler, and criticized the civil rights movement.
In contrast, AG Stein has deep political roots in North Carolina. His father, Adam, is a celebrated civil rights attorney, who, along with Julius Chambers and James Ferguson, founded the state’s first integrated law firm, according to CNN.
Stein is positioning himself as a leader committed to, “fighting for you — all North Carolinians — for your fundamental freedoms, whether those are reproductive rights or voting rights”.
His vision encompasses the protection of reproductive health care options, voting rights, raising teacher pay, and expanding opportunities for rural North Carolinians.
Currently, Stein is serving his eighth year as the state’s attorney general, after being elected first in 2016 and reelected in 2020. As North Carolina’s top lawyer, Stein is expanding the state’s DNA database, fighting the opioid epidemic, and cleared the largest backlog of untested rape kits in the country, among others.
According to Democracy Docket, AG Stein’s efforts have helped to secure $56 billion in national settlements, with at least $1.5 billion going directly to North Carolina.
“I want to take that same fighting spirit to the governor’s office where I can keep fighting to make sure that this economy works for everybody … where kids can go to good public schools from early childhood pre-K through community college and university, and where folks can live in safe communities,” stated AG Stein during a virtual press conference for student reporters.
“I think that is a future we can achieve here in North Carolina.”
