North Carolina Governor profile: Josh Stein
Super Tuesday is coming up on March 5.
The primaries are drawing to a close and we will soon have a clearer picture of what November's elections will look like.
The Democratic Primary has the following candidates: Chrelle Booker, Gary Foxx, Michael Morgan, Josh Stein, Marcus Williams.
We sent out questionnaires to every candidate.
Here is Josh Stein's response:
My name is Josh Stein, and I’ve been honored to serve as the state’s Attorney General since 2017. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your candidate guide. I have been fortunate to build a relationship with WCTI over the course of my career as a public servant, and I’m grateful for your work to disseminate truthful and cutting-edge reporting across the state.
(3) I love North Carolina, and I believe in the promise of this state that if you work hard, where you come from should not limit how far you can go. I am running for Governor to deliver on that promise by investing in our people and their futures and building a state with a thriving economy, safe communities, and strong schools. As Attorney General, I have been taking on big fights and delivering for the people of North Carolina. Whether it’s families suffering from the opioid crisis or it’s survivors of sexual assault or it’s children being sexually exploited or it’s people whose drinking water has been poisoned, we are working to improve North Carolinians’ lives. That’s what I’ll keep doing as Governor. North Carolinians will have a clear choice next November: they can choose someone who fights for them or my opponent who fights culture wars.
(4) I respect Justice Morgan and his decades of service to our state. My campaign is focused on building a strong coalition and campaign that is well-equipped to defeat Mark Robinson this November and keep North Carolina moving forward. That’s why I got in this race early and why I’m traveling across the state every chance I get - to build the infrastructure needed to win. And it’s about winning more than just the Governor’s race. We also have to break the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly. We are building a strong campaign now that is needed to support our candidates down the ballot.
(5) There is no greater priority than ensuring our kids get the quality education they need to succeed in life. Yet, North Carolina spends less than nearly all other states in the nation on public school funding as a share of our state’s economy – 49th out of 50! It’s a disgrace. All kids should get a good education from pre-kindergarten through community college and university, including our HBCUs, so they can succeed, whether starting college or a career. We need to strengthen career and technical education and apprenticeship programs because folks shouldn’t have to go to college to provide for their family. And we must support our educators and raise teacher pay to at least the national average. In the State Senate and as Attorney General, I have worked across the aisle to deliver for North Carolinians. I’ll continue doing that as Governor. We have to find common ground because the issues that matter are not red or blue, they’re North Carolina. We all need strong schools in our communities.
(6) Since my time as a state senator, I have consistently advocated for our state’s public schools. Every child has a constitutional right to a sound, basic education. As Attorney General, I have worked tirelessly to get public schools fully funded, working with my team to negotiate the settlement to the Leandro litigation. I have fought for high-quality teachers in every classroom, high-quality principals in every school, and more high quality pre-kindergarten slots for North Carolina children. I was honored to receive the NCAE’s endorsement as the gubernatorial candidate “best for education.” I have advocated for kids not only inside the classroom but also outside of it, taking Juul and Meta to court for exploiting young people, seeing them as dollars signs rather than kids who need protection. As Governor, I will continue fighting for fully funding our public schools and getting teachers the pay and support that they deserve.
(7) Everyone should have a fair shot to succeed no matter where they live. North Carolina’s economy is strong and growing, but not everyone is benefiting from that growth. The rising cost of housing, groceries, medicine, and other basic needs is making life too expensive for too many families. As Attorney General, I've fought against predatory corporations that were driving up prices for North Carolinians. I also sued 20 of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers that were conspiring to raise the price of drugs. As your Governor, I’ll work to deliver the economic security and peace of mind that every North Carolinian deserves by lowering costs, raising the minimum wage, and cutting taxes for working families.
(8) The General Assembly’s decision to use vouchers to take money away from public school kids and give it to millionaires sending their kids to unaccountable private academies, including those that discriminate on the basis of disability, wealth, religion, or sexual orientation, is wrongheaded. Parents should have the right to choose where they send their kids to school, but taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. North Carolina is ranked 49th in the nation in the share of our state’s economy that we invest in public schools; we can’t afford to defund public schools to further enrich wealthy parents sending their kids to private schools. We need to prioritize our public schools so students can learn the skills they need to compete. As a State Senator and Attorney General, I have fought for our state to fully fund our public schools, and I will continue that fight as Governor.
(9) Every North Carolinian should be able to get good health care, no matter where they live or how much money they earn. For more than a decade, the General Assembly refused to expand Medicaid, costing thousands of lives, squandering approximately $40 billion of our own tax dollars, and causing rural hospitals to shutter. I am proud to have worked with Governor Cooper and countless advocates to have convinced the legislature to finally expand Medicaid and deliver access to life-saving health care for 600,000 North Carolinians. As your Attorney General, I have taken on big health care fights and won. When Republican Attorneys General across the nation fought to strike down the Affordable Care Act, I worked to successfully defend Obamacare before the U.S. Supreme Court, protecting four million North Carolinians with pre-existing conditions, saving health care access for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, and keeping prescription drug costs down for more than one million seniors across the state. As Governor, I will fight to increase access to affordable, quality health care for all North Carolinians by building on Medicaid expansion and work to get drug and hospital costs under control. We’ll work to expand telemedicine, increase the number of health care providers in rural North Carolina, promote price transparency by hospitals, and strengthen our mental health, behavioral health, and drug treatment systems.
I learned early on from my parents that we must do everything we can to serve our communities. Back in the mid-1960s in Charlotte, my father joined Julius Chambers and James Ferguson to form North Carolina’s first integrated law firm. They won path-breaking victories in our nation’s legal battle against discrimination and for equality. And they did not back down from doing what was right, not even when someone firebombed their office and burned it to the ground. They taught me that some things are worth fighting for, no matter how tough the going is.
I thank you for the opportunity to share my views and my plans with North Carolinians
Bio: Attorney General Josh Stein learned early on that some things are worth fighting for, no matter the opposition. Julius Chambers, James Ferguson, and his father Adam started North Carolina’s first integrated law firm in the mid-1960s in Charlotte, and they won important victories in our nation’s legal battle for equality. His parents grounded him in our shared values of freedom, justice, and opportunity for everyone, and his faith teaches him that we are called to make a difference.
As Attorney General, Josh and his team have worked to:
● Protect vulnerable North Carolinians from fraudsters and scammers, including going after companies that price-gouged customers in the wake of natural disasters.
● Tackle the largest backlog of untested rape kits in the country, bringing justice to victims and putting rapists behind bars.
● Lead the national effort to hold accountable the big drug companies that created and fueled the opioid crisis, securing more than $55 billion in settlement funds: $1.5 billion of which are bringing much-needed treatment and recovery services to people across North Carolina.
● Hold e-cigarette manufacturer Juul accountable for sparking a teen vaping epidemic –the first state in the country to do so.
● Defend people’s right to vote and to vote in fair districts
As the next governor of North Carolina, Josh will be committed to working hard to bring people together to tackle the issues impacting North Carolinians, including lowering the cost of living, creating good-paying jobs, protecting our public schools, keeping communities safe, and making sure everyone has access to quality and affordable health care.