Editorial Board
North Carolina voters have started to cast their ballots for the 2026 midterms elections, choosing candidates for county-level and statewide seats.
For Piedmont Triad voters, races including House District 63 are one to watch, as Democrat candidate Ian Baltutis and Republican candidate Ryan Moffitt are running for the seat that was vacated by retiring six-term Republican incumbent Rep. Stephen Ross.
Ryan Moffitt, a Burlington attorney, is the Republican newcomer in this race. Although he is fresh on the scene, Moffitt’s endorsements and campaign donations paint a startling picture.
In the race for House District 63, Republican candidate Moffitt is endorsed by the NC Chamber, a controversial lobbying group that supports the expansion of data centers. The group has also pushed back against the regulation of toxic chemicals in the state’s drinking water; the same chemical compound that has been repeatedly found in Burlington’s wastewater in recent years.
Despite North Carolina residents, experts, and advocates sounding the alarm about cancer-causing chemicals being released into drinking water supplies, the NC Chamber of Commerce urged Congress to stop the EPA from requiring the state to regulate the compound.
Following the NC Chamber’s efforts, all state Republican lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill 402, which halts environmental regulation and makes it easier for corporations to pollute the state’s water supplies.
“HB 402 effectively halts environmental rulemaking—such as limits on toxic PFAS and cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane pollution of North Carolina’s drinking water sources,” Southern Environmental Law Center said in a statement after the bill’s passage in 2025. “It prohibits decisionmakers from considering benefits to North Carolina’s families and communities when calculating the impact of potential rules.”
Moffitt has also received financial backing from Republican House majority leader Brenden Jones. Jones, who has given 6,800 dollars to Moffitt’s campaign. Jones has come under scrutiny after he led a behind-the-scenes push to steer a state contract project toward a Florida developer whose affiliates have donated over $500,000 to state Republicans.
Moffitt has received a campaign donation from Republican Senator Amy Galey, who was a primary sponsor of the Parents’ Bill of Rights; a controversial bill that halted the state’s decades-long child sexual abuse prevention program and decreased health screenings for kids in school districts across the state.
“[The] really difficult [ ] about this news is that there’s children who we would have been able to reach that I don’t know if we’ll be able to reach,” Alex Mavrogenis, Orange County Rape Crisis Center’s Youth Education Program Coordinator, told NC Newsline following the bill’s passage. “It’s difficult to stomach.”
Unlike Moffitt, Democrat candidate Ian Baltutis has spent time serving the people over corporate interests. Baltutis, who is an Elon University alum and former mayor of Burlington, is running to defend local communities, lower the cost of living, and bring competent, forward-thinking leadership to the legislature, according to his campaign website.
With a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill and over a decade of public service to Alamance County, he is dedicated to supporting affordable housing, improving infrastructure, and making sure every voice is heard.
Early voting has begun in North Carolina and ends at 3 pm on Saturday, October 31st. You can still register or update your voter registration during the early voting period.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.
