One of the challenges of being a swing state is that presidential campaigns tend to suck up a lot of attention in North Carolina – to the detriment of other important statewide races on the ballot that don’t get as much coverage. In an ongoing series, we’ll break down the statewide races here, on the WUNC Politics Podcast, and in the WUNC Politics Newsletter.
Josh Stein is running for governor, so the office of the Tar Heel State's top lawyer is open.
The office of North Carolina Attorney General has been a launch pad to the governor’s office. Gov. Roy Cooper had the job for 16 years, and the current occupant of the office — Stein, a Democrat — is the leading candidate to become the next governor. That’s part of why this year’s race for Attorney General is drawing high-profile candidates and millions of dollars in campaign spending.
Seeking to succeed Stein are two congressmen, Republican Dan Bishop and Democrat Jeff Jackson.
Bishop has endorsed Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and been a staunch defender and supporter of former President Donald Trump, voting against certifying the 2020 election results. Jackson has been criticizing Bishop for being Robinson’s “biggest cheerleader.”
Bishop has criticized Jackson for his vote on a bill that will ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the Chinese government sells its stake in the platform, accusing Jackson of betraying First Amendment free speech rights. Jackson says he was concerned that the social media platform shouldn’t be owned by “one of our main geopolitical rivals.”
What does the North Carolina Attorney General do?
North Carolina’s attorney general is a key – and powerful – position in the state as its top lawyer.
Both candidates are concerned about the epidemic of fentanyl and other opioids. Jackson says he wants to use a new anti-money laundering law to identify and prosecute drug distribution cells, as well as increase access to medication-assisted opioid treatments. Bishop has said the fentanyl problem needs to be resolved by better border security and immigration enforcement.
The candidates note that as attorney general, they’d be responsible for defending the state in lawsuits challenging actions by the legislature. But they say that they wouldn’t defend actions they consider unconstitutional.
Who is Dan Bishop?
Bishop, 60, has been in the U.S. House since 2019, where he’s a member of the Freedom Caucus and was a vocal opponent of former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
He also served in the state Senate and House, where he was the lead sponsor of House Bill 2 in 2016, the “bathroom bill” that restricted transgender access to public bathrooms. HB2, according to the Associated Press, cost North Carolina more $3.76 billion in lost business. In 2017, the NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference pulled all their championships and tournaments out of the state, resulting in big losses in tourism dollars.
Who is Jeff Jackson?
Jackson, 42, was elected to congress in 2022 and previously served four terms in the state Senate. He’s amassed a large TikTok following for conversational videos explaining the action on Capitol Hill, and he also serves in the National Guard. It’s worth noting that Jackson is one of the more extremely online North Carolina politicians, with north of 860,000 combined followers on X and Instagram, and 2.2 million on TikTok.
Before running for congress in 2022, Jackson initially ran to fill the retiring Richard Burr’s senate seat. He dropped out before the primary and endorsed Cheri Beasley, who ultimately lost to Ted Budd.
What are Bishop and Jackson saying about the election?
If elected, Jackson seems to be already taking aim at North Carolina’s Republican super-majority state legislature.
“If the General Assembly starts trying to tilt things in their favor (through election laws) it is entirely appropriate, and constitutionally required, for the attorney general to step in on behalf of the voters,” Jackson said.
This stance from Jackson has given Bishop some ammo to criticize him.
“What Jeff has vowed to do before political audiences across North Carolina, is to oppose the legislature on policy issues with which he disagrees with the elected legislature,” Bishop said. “Well, the elected legislature and the law, that's the way the law is made.”
For more on Dan Bishop, Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Attorney General race in 2024, read and subscribe to the WUNC Politics Newsletter and listen to full conversations with them on the WUNC Politics Podcast.
