Republican Dan Bishop, 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: Dan Bishop
Political party: Republican
Age as of Nov. 5, 2024: 60
Campaign website: votedanbishop.com
Current occupation: U.S. Representative, NC-8. Formerly practiced law for 30 years
Professional experience: 30 years as a litigator. I appeared over 400 times in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court. Member, Committee on Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives Member, Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives.
Education: J.D. with high honors, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. B.S. with highest distinction, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Please list any notable government or civic involvement. U.S. Congress, elected three times. NC Senate, elected twice. NC House. Mecklenburg County Commission, elected twice.
What would be your top priority if elected?
Restoring law and order in North Carolina. I will work hand in hand with local law enforcement to restore law and order and keep our cities and towns safe.
What percentage raises should your state agency’s employees receive in the next state budget?
I will advocate to the legislature for fair compensation for Department of Justice employees. The appropriate increases in pay will vary by position, qualification and experience of the employees, and other factors.
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 will work with whoever is willing to make our state safer, restore a culture of law and order, and achieve common good for the people of North Carolina.
How will you work with local law enforcement across the state to ensure their needs are met?
Over 75 sheriffs and district attorneys have endorsed me for attorney general. Many of them tell me the current AG has had little to no communication with them over the past eight years. That is unacceptable. The AG should work hand in hand with law enforcement and serve as a resource and advocate for our front-line police, sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and prosecutors.
What laws, if any, has the General Assembly passed that you believe are unconstitutional and that you would not defend in court?
When it comes to the AG’s responsibility to defend the law in court, my personal opinions are irrelevant. I’ll defend the law. And I will not resort to the dishonest tactic of cloaking policy disagreements with enacted legislation in pretextual, flimsy and far-fetched constitutional objections or resort to transparent legal trickery to nullify enacted law, as Stein and Cooper have done. I’ll defend North Carolina law — period — whether I agree with it or not.
On what kinds of issues do you envision working and partnering with other state attorneys general?
I will join other AGs to protect North Carolinians from federal erosion of their fundamental rights — especially free expression and federal agency overreach in regulating their lives and businesses. For example: the Biden Title IX rule and brazen disregard of U.S. immigration law that is destabilizing NC communities and flooding them with deadly fentanyl. I will also join multistate litigation against large corporate abusers of North Carolinians’ rights, such as Purdue Pharmaceuticals.
Is there an issue on which you disagree with your party? What is your position on that issue?
In Congress, I stood up to my party on spending and deficits, which threaten to destroy our children’s and grandchildren’s future and our country’s long-term security and well-being. I voted to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights when my party voted to ban TikTok and my opponent joined them, even though he has built his political career on that platform.
This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 1:49 PM.