Early poll on 2024 North Carolina governor’s race has 1 surprise suggestion
18 January 2023
RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — A contender has stepped into the electoral ring.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Josh Stein announced his intent to run for governor of North Carolina in the 2024 election. Stein shared an announcement video, where he stated he would fight for a North Carolina “rooted in our shared values of freedom, justice, and opportunity for everyone.”
“I learned early on that some things are worth fighting for, no matter the opposition,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Some politicians want to tell you who you should hate, when you’ll be pregnant, and who you can marry. I believe in a different North Carolina — and that the fights we choose determine what kind of state we’ll become. We’ll build a better and brighter North Carolina by standing together for what’s right, fighting to fix what’s wrong, and doing right by every single North Carolinian.”
Since the beginning of this cycle two years ago, Stein has raised more than $5 million and has nearly $4 million cash-on-hand, the release says.
Stein boasts that he has endorsements from over 150 elected officials from across North Carolina: 64 members of the state house and senate, 16 mayors, and 28 district attorneys and sheriffs, and nine current and former members of Congress. Click here to see the list of endorsements.
But who else could run?
Josh Stein was considered by some an obvious choice to run on the Democratic ticket when Governor Roy Cooper’s second term ends in 2024, though some officials that were polled by WGHP suggested other candidates like Cheri Beasley as a possibility.
As for the Republican ticket, support has swelled around firebrand Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who has discussed a gubernatorial run but stopped shy of officially declaring it. Most recently, Robinson spoke at a March For Life event in Raleigh, sharing his vision for North Carolina as a ‘destination for life.’
Robinson has been a controversial figure in North Carolina politics, sharing conspiratorial memes and making comments that people have perceived as misogynistic, homophobic and anti-trans.
Other Republicans such as Mark Walker and Thom Tillis have been suggested as candidates, but not to the extent that Robinson has.