North Carolina will have a new governor. Here’s what to know about Democrat Josh Stein
Democrat Josh Stein is the governor-elect of North Carolina, and will take office in January. Here’s what to know about the incoming governor, who will replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Stein is currently the state attorney general, and his term ends at the end of the year. As he follows a Democrat into the Executive Mansion, so, too, will a Democrat follow Stein into the attorney general’s office — Jeff Jackson. Along with Stein and Jackson, the next lieutenant governor will also be a Democrat: Rachel Hunt will replace Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who lost his bid for governor to Stein.
Cooper’s influence on Stein
Cooper and Stein have known each other for decades, and are good friends. Stein considers Cooper a mentor. He also worked for Cooper when Cooper was attorney general, and their politics and policy align. Like Cooper, Stein supports major Democratic Party issues like reproductive freedom and increasing funding for K-12 public education.
Cooper introduced Stein ahead of Stein’s victory party speech on Tuesday night.
Cooper said the state chose progress, experience, reproductive freedom for women and support for public schools by electing Stein, whom he called “an amazing public servant and attorney general. And now it’s time for his new job.”
Stein’s victory speech
Stein’s victory speech included a promise to Western North Carolina after Helene devastation, and talk of the “promise of North Carolina.”
“(Neighbors and others) just showed up because that’s who we are as North Carolinians, and we will show up for the people of Western North Carolina to help them rebuild safer and stronger than ever before,” he said.
Stein said the promise of North Carolina is “that where you come from should never limit how far you can go. That our kids and grandkids should enjoy a better and brighter future than we’ve had. That every North Carolinian should have a fair shot at success starting a small business or getting a good paying job everywhere in this state, including small town North Carolina.”
Stein’s time as attorney general
Earlier this year, Stein announced that the Department of Justice had cleared the backlog of sexual assault evidence kits. In 2021, he announced they had cleared half, which was about 16,000 cases, The N&O reported then.
As attorney general, Stein has also sued companies over the opioid crisis, with the latest result a $1.37 billion settlement with Kroger that included a $40 million opioid-abatement share for North Carolina. That settlement, in which he joined 30 other attorneys general in a multi-state lawsuit, stemmed from the grocery chain’s pharmacies’ role in the crisis, according to DOJ.
Stein also sued then-President Donald Trump, who is now the president-elect, over immigration bans, again joining with other attorneys general.
Josh Stein’s age, childhood, high school, hometown
Stein is 58. He and his wife, Anna, live in Raleigh and both grew up in North Carolina. Josh Stein was born in Washington, D.C., then moved to Charlotte as a baby and went to K-12 schools in Chapel Hill, where he spent the rest of his youth. He graduated from Chapel Hill High School.
Josh Stein’s family and faith
▪ Stein is married to Anna Stein, and they have three grown children: Leah, Adam and Sam. The youngest, Leah, is still in college. All three Stein children went to Wake County Public Schools for elementary, middle and high school. Josh Stein’s parents are Adam and Jane.
▪ Stein will be North Carolina’s first Jewish governor, and is a member of Temple Beth Or in Raleigh. If they hold a Passover Seder in the Executive Mansion, it won’t be the first: Cooper has held one, and the Steins attended.
NC’s next First Lady, Anna Stein
Anna Stein is also an attorney, and most recently worked in public health policy at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. As the next North Carolina first lady, she said she would want to lift up the work of public health policy around substance use, which she has also worked on.
Stein said she is more interested in policy than politics.
“To the extent that a first lady chooses any kind of issues to try to work on, one issue that I would like to work on is trying to reduce stigma against people with substance use disorders and mental health disorders,” she said in a recent interview with The News & Observer.
“That’s definitely a continuation of my work, directly out of the work that I’ve been doing. I know there’s a lot of work happening in that space, and to the extent that I can help lift that up, that’s something that I would like to do. That’s something that could be worked on in all 100 counties, and that definitely impacts everyone statewide,” Anna Stein said.
Stein’s college degrees
▪ Stein is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School.
Stein and sports
▪ Stein is a fan of soccer, basketball and the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. He also coached youth soccer.
Stein at home, humor, next First Pets
Anna Stein said that what people may not know about her husband is the “kind of lighthearted, fun-loving person he is to be around. He’s very even-keeled ... loves to crack jokes.”
She said they like to walk their dogs, Harper and Lila, to a nearby shopping center and eat outside at restaurants.
Reid Wilson, who is now the secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, has known Stein for more than 25 years, “before he ever got elected to anything, and he really hasn’t changed much from who he was then.”
Wilson and Stein met as dads, while in a parents’ group together in Washington, and the families became friends. Stein and his oldest son went to Wilson’s son’s first birthday party in 1999.
Wilson said that Stein is “still fun, he’s funny. He’s got a great sense of humor. You know, he and Anna are just very supportive, warm human beings. And I think that is how he was then, and that is how he is today.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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