Keep an eye on these 4 important — and interesting — NC races in 2024 | Opinion
There’s a lot in store for North Carolina in 2024, politically speaking. It’s a big election year with a long ballot — voters will weigh in on races for president, governor, attorney general, the state legislature and more. Some of these races carry importance. Others are just plain interesting, and many are a mix of both. Here are four to keep an eye on:
NC governor
Eyes across the country will be on this one — POLITICO recently called it the “biggest gubernatorial race of the year.” If the primaries shake out as expected, it’ll be Attorney General Josh Stein and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on the ballot in November, making it a race between a generic but likable Democrat and a Republican whose extremism is becoming increasingly mainstream within his party.
This is North Carolina, so it’s sure to be a competitive race. The latest polling shows Robinson with a slight edge over Stein, but a heavy percentage of voters are still undecided.
If Democrats manage to break through the Republican supermajority in the state legislature, the outcome of the governor’s race will be significant. With a Democrat in the governor’s mansion, legislation passed by the GOP-controlled legislature can be vetoed. Republican lawmakers will struggle to override those vetoes without a supermajority. But if the next governor is a Republican, it won’t matter if the GOP has a supermajority or not — there won’t be a veto standing in the way.
NC attorney general
Attorney general races are rarely marquee contests, but this is one worth paying attention to. Barring a major upset in the primaries, it’ll be Jeff Jackson and Dan Bishop facing off in November. On paper, they appear similar: two state senators turned congressmen making a run for statewide office. But their style of politics couldn’t be more different — Bishop is far more inflammatory than Jackson, for example — which will make for an interesting race. But it will also be a race that signals what kind of politics resonates in North Carolina, and whether seriousness and civility is still something we value from our elected officials.
Both Bishop and Jackson are avid users of social media, so expect some attention-grabbing antics to happen online. Some of that has already begun — Bishop took a swing at Jackson the day he entered the race with a bizarre and insensitive stunt involving TikTok and alleged Chinese spies. Unfortunately, there’s probably more where that came from, so buckle up.
Packed primaries
Anytime there are more than a couple of candidates vying for their party’s nomination, things are bound to get interesting. There are a number of Republican primaries with a long list of names on the ballot, which almost certainly means a great deal of drama between now and March.
Six Republicans are running in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. That includes Bo Hines, who once again is running in a district in which he does not live; Mark Walker, who has now run for three different offices in the past 18 months; and Addison McDowell, a lobbyist who unexpectedly received Donald Trump’s endorsement before he even announced his campaign.
The GOP primary for North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District will also feature six candidates, including Mark Harris, whose “victory” in 2018 was overturned following a ballot-harvesting scandal. In a video announcing his candidacy, Harris suggested the Democrats stole the election from him, actually. Yes, seriously.
Meanwhile, a whopping 14 (!) Republicans are running in the 13th Congressional District, and another 11 Republicans are hoping to be the state’s next lieutenant governor. Good luck to anyone making that choice. (But we’ll be here to help with candidate endorsements.)
Tricia Cotham
After making headlines — and political enemies — with her decision to switch parties last year, Rep. Tricia Cotham will seek reelection in a district drawn just for her. House District 105 leans Republican, but the right Democrat could win there, especially if voters are unhappy with or mistrustful of Cotham.
Since Cotham’s switcheroo is what officially handed Republicans a supermajority, the outcome of this race could determine whether they hang onto it. First, though, the Democratic primary will determine which of three candidates will be the one to challenge her.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Keep an eye on these 4 important — and interesting — NC races in 2024 | Opinion."
