US election 2024: Democrat Josh Stein wins North Carolina’s governor race. Who is he?
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein was elected governor, defeating Republican Mark Robinson. Stein, the state's first Jewish governor, aims to continue Democratic policies on education and abortion, while Robinson faced controversies that weakened his campaign.
Democratic candidate Josh Stein on Wednesday won the governor race on Tuesday, defeating Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson in North Carolina. This victory comes amid recent Republican control over the legislature and appeals courts in North Carolina.
Who is Josh Stein?
Stein, a Harvard-trained lawyer, former state senator and the state’s chief law enforcement officer since 2017, will succeed fellow Democrat Roy Cooper, who was term-limited from seeking reelection. He will be the state’s first Jewish governor. Robinson's campaign was greatly hampered by a damning report in September that he had posted messages on an online pornography website, including that he was a “Black Nazi."
Since 1993, Democrats have controlled the governor’s mansion for all but four years, even though Republicans have held legislative majorities since 2011.
Like Cooper, one of Stein's main responsibilities will likely be using his veto power to block policies he sees as overly conservative. Cooper saw mixed results with this approach during his eight years as governor. Otherwise, Stein’s campaign priorities largely align with Cooper’s, focusing on increasing public school funding, promoting clean energy, and preventing additional abortion restrictions proposed by Republicans.
For months Stein and his allies used television ads and social media to remind voters of previous inflammatory comments that Robinson had made about abortion, women and LGBTQ people that they said made him too extreme to lead a swing state.
Stein campaigned on his record of suing companies for pollution, opioids and e-cigarette marketing to teens. He also spoke about freedom in terms of public safety and personal health-care decisions, echoing the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, which spent significant time and resources trying to swing the state’s 16 electoral college votes to Democrats for the first time since 2008.
“We chose hope over hate, competency over chaos,” Stein said Tuesday night at his watch party in Raleigh, where he was introduced by Cooper. “Because that’s who we are as North Carolinians”
Stein’s campaign dramatically outraised and outspent Robinson, who was seeking to become the state’s first Black governor.
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Business NewsNewsUs NewsUS election 2024: Democrat Josh Stein wins North Carolina’s governor race. Who is he?
First Published:6 Nov 2024, 09:17 AM IST
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