Buck Newton: NC Senator seeking promotion to attorney general

Sen. Buck Newton will be closely watched during the legislative session as the only legislator running a statewide campaign.

Newton, a Republican from Wilson, won the Republican nomination for attorney general last month. Now he’s facing Democrat Josh Stein – who until last month also served in the Senate – in the general election to replace Roy Cooper.

Newton likely will take a leading role on justice and public safety issues as co-chairman of the Senate Judiciary I Committee. Senate leaders could put Newton in charge of legislation likely to boost his profile, said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in Salisbury.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of them were law-and-order type issues that he could use to his advantage in his campaign,” Bitzer said.

Newton hasn’t yet outlined any bills he plans to file this session. His campaign manager, Michael Luethy, said he was not available to comment for this story.

Newton could find himself busy with the bill he helped sponsor in last month’s short session: House Bill 2. Newton introduced the LGBT bill on the Senate floor and opposed Democrats’ efforts to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s new nondiscrimination law. He said the terms were difficult to define and would create confusion if included in state law.

Newton hasn’t said if he’d support Gov. Pat McCrory’s request to repeal part of the law that prevents employment discrimination lawsuits from being filed in state courts. Senate leader Phil Berger defended that provision last week, noting that federal discrimination lawsuits are still available and can be filed at state courthouses.

Meanwhile, Stein has starting referring to HB2 as “Buck’s bill,” reminding voters that his opponent had just as much to do with the law as McCrory.

“Buck’s bill (HB2) makes the choice for attorney general crystal clear,” Stein tweeted on April 15. “My Republican opponent – Buck Newton – was the Senate floor leader of this discriminatory law.”

Running a statewide campaign during a legislative session could prove a juggling act. As Newton’s campaign began last year, he was absent for 13 days, giving him one of the worst attendance records in the Senate, according to the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research.

By resigning, Stein “has got the opportunity to spend the time traveling the state, working on name recognition, meeting voters,” Bitzer said. “Newton is going to have to rely on a more compressed schedule to do that once the legislature is out of session.”

And during the session, Democrats will be looking for statements they can use against him. Last year, a Republican group had a full-time video tracker following Stein at the legislature. Newton could get similar treatment.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Buck Newton: NC Senator seeking promotion to attorney general."