Democrat Mo Green defeats GOP’s Michele Morrow in NC superintendent’s race
%20-%20Lucy%20Russell%20Pittman_fitted.jpeg "Mo Green, Democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction")
Democrat Mo Green has defeated Republican MAGA candidate Michele Morrow in the race to lead North Carolina’s public schools, according to unofficial results.
The Associated Press called the state superintendent of public instruction race for Green at 1:25 a.m. on Wednesday, nearly six hours after polls closed. Morrow conceded the race to Green on Wednesday morning.
With all precincts reporting, Green had 51.1% of the vote. Morrow had 48.9%. Morrow led for part of the night until a late surge of ballots from Democratic areas gave Green a victory of more than 119,000 votes.
“It is concerning that my opponent almost was elected having put out the sort of comments and disparaging remarks she made about our public schools and about our various communities,” Green said at a news conference Wednesday.
But Green said the election showed more voters wanted a superintendent who has a more positive view of public education.
Morrow focused on the closeness of the election outcome, saying “nearly half of North Carolina voters have made their voices heard, and they called loudly for change in our public schools.”
“We nearly overcame incredible odds,” Morrow said in a statement Wednesday. “Between Mo Green’s campaign funding and the support of his special interest groups, we were outspent nearly 300 to one. The closeness of this race is a testament to grass roots campaigning.”
Transition to new superintendent
Green is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, the state’s third-largest school district. He is the former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a group that funds progressive causes.
Morrow is a registered nurse, conservative activist, homeschool parent and former Christian missionary. She defeated Superintendent Catherine Truitt in the Republican primary, during which she accused the incumbent of being insufficiently conservative.
Truitt declined to endorse either Green or Morrow. But Truitt congratulated Green on Wednesday, saying on a post on X that “Team DPI pledges to work with you on a smooth transition” on behalf of the state’s 1.5 million public school students.
Green praised Truitt’s service on Wednesday, saying he would meet with her as part of the transition.
“She, I think, did some great work, particularly around early literacy skills and really trying to put North Carolina on a path to where more and more of our students will be reading on grade level by the third grade,” Green said. “And so I intend to continue that.”
National attention on Morrow
The race received national attention due to CNN reports about Morrow’s past social media posts. Those include talking about killing Democrats such as former President Barack Obama, and a video encouraging President Donald Trump to use the military to stay in power in 2021.
Morrow had filmed the Trump video the night of Jan. 6, 2021, after marching on the U.S. Capitol with her children. Morrow has said she did not storm the building as other protesters did.
During a recent campaign rally in Charlotte, Obama called Morrow’s comments “crazy stuff.”
Morrow has accused public schools of being “an absolute cesspool of evil and lies” and “indoctrination centers.” She kept up her fiery rhetoric during the campaign, telling supporters “this is war” and falsely claiming the + in LGBTQ+ stands for pedophilia.
Morrow has said Green is too extreme. She has pointed to how the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation gave grants to groups that support Black Lives Matter and removing police officers from schools.
Polls showed close race
Polls showed the race was close, with Green holding a two- to three-point lead over Morrow.
An Elon University poll released last week had Green with an eight-point lead over Morrow.
Green, who has a nearly 10-to-1 fundraising edge over Morrow, used his war chest to run ads accusing Morrow of being too extreme.
The new superintendent is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the state Department of Public Instruction. This includes the $11 billion in state funding for public schools that DPI distributes to local school districts and charter schools.
The superintendent advocates and informs the state on issues in education, makes recommendations for policy changes to the legislature and governor and works with the State Board of Education.
‘Champions of public education’
Green, who watched the election results from home Tuesday night. called his victory a win for public education.
“After the primary, I said that this race was bigger than me,” Green said. “I said that the very soul of public education was on the ballot this November, and that it would take champions of public education to meet this moment. I am so pleased and thankful that champions of public education did meet this moment with regards to this race.”
Green reiterated Wednesday the need to celebrate the good in public education.
“We have to celebrate the good,” Green said. “We have to be sure that we’re elevating the profession of educators and revering them, because they do the transformative work for our students and beyond.”
In contrast, Morrow continued to attack Green.
“Our new superintendent made it very clear throughout his campaign that he has no intention of changing anything,” Morrow said Wednesday. “His mantra was ‘celebrate’ the current system as it is.”
Green said he wants to have a dialogue with those who feel public schools are failing.
“But for those who didn’t choose me, I want to also be abundantly clear that I hear the concerns I do,” Green said. “I’m a listener.”
‘This fight has just begun’
Morrow followed events at Sophie’s Grill and Bar in Cary, a favorite spot for Republicans. The entire venue was decorated with a variety of Donald Trump signs, with more signs for conservative candidates in local races inside.
Morrow told reporters before the results came in that she was “cautiously optimistic” and that her supporters were excited to elect her and Trump.
In her statement Wednesday, Morrow said she and her supporters will have to “fight harder” now that they’ve lost the election.
“Many may say that we lost this fight,” Morrow said. “But I say this fight has just begun. This was never about winning a political office. This was always about the children. And so it will remain.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:02 PM.
