Freeman wins 3rd term as Wake County district attorney
Incumbent Lorrin Freeman won a third, consecutive term as Wake County district attorney Tuesday.
With all of the county’s 208 precincts reporting, Freeman, a Democrat, had 62% of the vote compared to 38% for Republican Jeff Dobson, a political newcomer who served in the military for roughly 16 years before becoming an attorney and starting his own law firm three years ago.
Unaffiliated voters make up a 41% of the Wake voters,followed by Democrats at 36% and Republicans at 22%, The News & Observer has reported.
Criminal justice reform
It was a bumpy election season for Freeman, 51, who was first elected DA in 2014 and previously served as an assistant district attorney, an assistant state attorney general and Wake County’s clerk of court for two terms.
She faced criticism in the March primary from her Democratic challenger, Damon Chetson, as well as local, state and national organizations who contended she hasn’t done enough to address disparities in the criminal justice system.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of North Carolina launched a $200,000 voter education campaign in the weeks before the election, highlighting the candidates’ differences on the issues, including Freeman’s continued pursuit of the death penalty and her prosecution of low-level marijuana charges.
Freeman says her office has made strides by revising pretrial release program, providing diversion programs to people with addictions and mental health problems, and collaborating to help people who re-enter the community after incarceration. However, she said, she won’t make sweeping promises not to use laws that are on the books.
Freeman won the Democratic primary in May after taking 59% against Chetson, a defense attorney.
As Freeman moved on to the general election, her office faced criticism from the top ranks of the North Carolina Democratic Party for exploring whether to charge Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign with breaking an obscure law.
Freeman has recused herself from involvement in the case, she said, but has defended Assistant District Attorney David Saacks, who moved forward with seeking an indictment until the case was paused by a federal lawsuit filed by the Stain campaign.
Dobson, 40, has also been critical of Freeman, echoing Chetson, who pushed for more criminal justice reform faster.
The Wake County district attorney handles the state’s corruption and government malfeasance cases in addition to running an office with about 70 employees who handle over 100,000 criminal infractions and violations each year. The DA makes $140,834 annually.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 7:38 PM.
