North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is the frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor.
The News & Observer sat down with him in December to talk about his campaign, why he wants to follow Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, what he thinks about the Republican frontrunner and more.
Here’s what Stein had to say on key issues and people, with the primary just a few months away.
On the Israel-Hamas war, protesters and two-state solution
While governors don’t have a role in foreign policy, voters still look to them for a response when major events are happening around the world.
The Israel-Hamas war has dominated foreign-policy discussions at the federal level, and locally, there have been several pro-Palestinian protests, from council meetings to the State Capitol tree lighting ceremony in Raleigh.
“What’s going on in Israel is just awful. Heartrendingly awful. Oct. 7, what was done to innocent civilians .... is terrible,” Stein said about Hamas’ attack on Israel and the people still held hostage.
“Hamas represents a real threat to Israel,” Stein said. “Israel is justified to try to address that threat. They have to do it in a way that minimizes, to the maximum extent possible, the impact on civilians because there are a couple of million Palestinians who live in Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas, and are just trying to live their lives. That is an incredibly difficult task to do. To both take out a military threat who uses humans as shields — so it’s a very tough task — but they have got to do a better job.”
Stein, who is Jewish, said he understands North Carolinians’ desire to be heard by local and state government, even if those governments don’t have a role in foreign policy. When it comes to protests about the war, he said it’s important to hear the concerns of North Carolinians.
That applies to the deaths and kidnapping of Jewish people, he said, “but at the same time, there are people in Palestine who are suffering because the war is in their backyard. It’s on top of their buildings,” he said. “And so the fact that there are people in this state who are connected to Israel and connected to Gaza — it’s real.”
Stein also said the good thing about the United States is “that if you have a firm belief on something, and you do it in a way that respects the law, you can give voice to that. That’s the First Amendment guarantee to every American, and that’s something I cherish.”
Stein also shared his view on the future of the conflicted region.
“We have got to get to a place where there’s a two-state solution,” he said. “There has to be a permanent resolution. We cannot live in this limbo for decades more without the Palestinians’ legitimate interests being vindicated somehow, and I believe they do deserve their own independent nation.”
On deciding to run for governor
Stein announced his campaign for governor in January 2023, though it had been long-expected in the state political world.
He said he began to think seriously about running starting in 2021, after he won reelection for a second term as attorney general. Stein said he decided to run because “we need to have somebody strong who can win as a Democrat here in North Carolina. And I’ve proven that.
“I’ve won twice here in North Carolina, even though President Trump has won North Carolina both times. ... And before that, my whole career trajectory has just been about trying to find the slot where I feel like I can do the most good. And to me this is just the natural next step on what can I do to help people in North Carolina enjoy their lives more. I mean, I think that’s what government should be about,” Stein said.
On following footsteps of Gov. Cooper and if he’d do anything different
Stein and Cooper have known and worked with each other for more than 20 years. When Cooper was attorney general, he hired Stein to run the Consumer Protection Division, which he did for eight years. In that role, he spent time at the General Assembly working on legislation that would go after predatory lenders. Then, in 2008, Stein ran for and won a seat in the state Senate, where Cooper also previously served.
“(Cooper) has been certainly a mentor to me along the way,” Stein said. “And he’s just, he is a very good person. He cares about other people. His motivations are to try to help other people, and he does it in a very balanced and reasonable fashion. And I respect that.”
Stein would not list a decision or policy difference he has with Cooper, saying they see the world through a very similar lens and have a similar worldview.
“We have a similar sense of what’s politically possible, and how you get to the best outcome you possibly can,” Stein said.
“We’re different people,” Stein added, and have slightly different governing styles.
Asked specifically about Cooper’s handling of delayed hurricane relief and decisions about whether to grant clemency to people on death row — Cooper has been criticized over both — Stein said he didn’t know the exact circumstances of each past decision.
Running in the primary
Stein, whose early entrance in the race resulted in a slew of early endorsements, said he respects his main primary opponent, recently retired N.C. Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan.
“I fully anticipated having primary opposition. I never thought I would get the Democratic nomination without having to campaign for it,” Stein said. “And my plan has been to work very hard to earn every single vote that I can in the Democratic primary, win the nomination, and then work equally hard and win every single vote I can in the general election.”
Gearing up for the general election
The Republican frontrunner in the gubernatorial primary is Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the MAGA-wing firebrand who is known for giving speeches and making comments that insult a variety of people, especially LGBTQ+ people, along with questioning climate change, embracing former Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and a laundry list of other controversial topics. Robinson has walked back some of his antisemitic comments but doubled down on other remarks.
Stein said that Robinson’s “beliefs that he put out there for the world to see on Facebook are not the beliefs that a leader of a thriving, growing, diverse state can hold. And that’s one reason why I’m so committed to winning this election.”
Stein said the difference between them “could not be starker. I am a fighter for the people. He is a fighter for the culture wars. It’s about division, instead of unity. It’s about hate, instead of tolerance, about fake issues instead of real challenges that we need to address. I think the choice for the voters is going to be as clear as possible next November, and I’m confident that they will make the right choice.”
Stein said his interactions with Robinson thus far have mostly come at monthly Council of State meetings.
Working with Republican legislative leadership
Stein and Cooper have known each other for a long time as Democratic allies, and Stein has known the top Republicans at the legislature for decades as well. Republican House Speaker Tim Moore is leaving to run for Congress next year, but Republican Senate leader Phil Berger is expected to remain at the helm.
Whether Republicans maintain their supermajority at the General Assembly, if Stein wins the governor’s race he will continue to interact with Berger. But as Cooper did, Stein would join forces with legislative leaders on issues like economic development.
“Obviously, we have very different philosophical perspectives,” Stein said about Berger. “But I’ve always found him to be straight. When he says yes, it means yes. When he says no, it means no. It doesn’t mean you can’t keep coming back and trying to persuade him, but I found him to be a straight person to deal with.”
Stein said that he and Republicans have worked together tackling the fentanyl crisis, funding efforts to end the rape kit backlog, strengthening public safety laws and modernizing laws to protect children from sexual abuse.
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