Democrat Jeff Jackson, candidate for NC attorney general, answers our questions
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Candidates for North Carolina attorney general
Two congressmen, Democrat Jeff Jackson and Republican Dan Bishop, are facing off against each other. Get to know the candidates with our 2024 NC Voter Guide.
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To help inform voters about the Nov. 5, 2024 election, this candidate questionnaire is available to be republished by local publications in North Carolina without any cost. Please consider subscribing to The News & Observer to help make this coverage possible.
Name: Jeff Jackson
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 5, 2024: 42
Campaign website: jeffjacksonnc.com
Current occupation: Congressman, North Carolina’s 14th District
Professional experience: Previous: Assistant District Attorney, Gaston County District Attorney’s Office; Counsel, Womble Bond Dickinson; State Senator, North Carolina Senate District 37. Current: Major, NC Army National Guard, JAG Corps; Congressman, North Carolina’s 14th District
Education: University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D.; Emory University, B.A. and M.A.
Please list any notable government or civic involvement. I’ve served as an assistant district attorney, state senator, and congressman. I am a major in the North Carolina National Guard and served in Afghanistan.
What would be your top priority if elected?
The fentanyl epidemic is killing people in our state each day. As attorney general, I would support a two-front approach that targets both supply and demand. That means aggressively pursuing the elements of organized crime that traffic fentanyl into our state by identifying and breaking apart the distribution cells that exist within our state as well as advocating for effective addiction treatment for users.
What percentage raises should your state agency’s employees receive in the next state budget?
North Carolina Department of Justice employees should at least receive the 5% raises and retention bonuses that were a part of the governor’s proposed budget. They do incredible work to keep North Carolinians safe and protect consumers. We need to keep that experience at the NCDOJ, which means compensation must be more competitive than it currently is.
Will you attend all Council of State meetings?
Yes.
How will you work with the other nine members of the council, including the governor?
I believe the work of the attorney general is fundamentally nonpartisan. The job is to be a shield for the public against those who mean them harm. I will gladly work with any elected official — regardless of party — to accomplish that mission.
How will you work with local law enforcement across the state to ensure their needs are met?
As the only former prosecutor in this race, I’ve worked directly with law enforcement and would actively partner with them as attorney general to keep our families safe. I have supported state and federal efforts to pay our officers more and brought in funding for local police departments to upgrade their technological capabilities. We must make competitive salaries a priority for law enforcement. There simply is no way to recruit and retain high-level talent without offering competitive compensation.
What laws, if any, has the General Assembly passed that you believe are unconstitutional and that you would not defend in court?
One of the core responsibilities of the attorney general is to represent the state. It would be my obligation to do so even in matters in which I personally disagreed. However, in exceptionally rare instances, should the matter involve a clear violation of the Constitution, I would not be able to provide a defense. I agree with the U.S. District Court that pieces of SB 20, the law restricting abortion access, were unconstitutional.
On what kinds of issues do you envision working and partnering with other state attorneys general?
Disrupting fentanyl supply chains, joint operations regarding human trafficking, combating Medicare fraud, coordination against new kinds of scams (such as those employing artificial intelligence), data privacy initiatives, social media litigation, price gouging litigation, clean air and water concerns.
Is there an issue on which you disagree with your party? What is your position on that issue?
My party made an enormous mistake by not ending gerrymandering and enacting independent redistricting when it had the chance. Now the other party is in power, and they’re making the same mistake by refusing to allow an independent redistricting process. No matter which party is in power, when politicians use partisan redistricting to favor themselves, the voters lose. We have needed independent redistricting for a long time, and I fully support it.
This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 1:44 PM.