See who’s running in 2024 for North Carolina governor and other statewide offices
In November 2024, North Carolinians will go to the polls to vote for president, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and many other offices.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein was the first to announce he would run for governor in 2024, followed by Republican Treasurer Dale Folwell.
Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson joined the race in April. Former state Sen. Andy Wells announced his campaign for the Republican nomination in July, followed by GOP attorney Bill Graham in October.
Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan, who stepped down from the court in early September, entered the Democratic primary for governor on Sept. 12.
Gov. Roy Cooper is term-limited and can’t run for another consecutive term.
With Stein, Folwell and Robinson not running again for their current jobs, and both Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson and Auditor Beth Wood also bowing out, North Carolina has at least six major open seats with no incumbent to defeat.
Here’s a look at who we know is running for statewide office. Check back, as this list will be updated.
Governor
In the battle for the governor’s mansion next year:
▪ Stein’s campaign video in January made him the first Democratic candidate to announce a run, and signaled that he’s keen on using as much time as possible to introduce himself to voters across the state and make his case.
Stein, a former state senator and two-term attorney general, has drawn national attention for some of his work in the office, including lawsuits against drug and tobacco companies, The News & Observer previously reported.
▪ Folwell announced for governor March 25 at a Republican convention in his home county of Forsyth. He served as a state legislator and school board member and as head of the state unemployment office under former Gov. Pat McCrory before being elected treasurer in 2016.
▪ Robinson made it official April 22 at a rally at Ace Speedway in Alamance County. Since being elected in 2021, Robinson has established himself as one of the leading conservative voices in the state, often appearing as a keynote speaker at GOP events, and building his own following. Stein’s campaign video even highlighted some of the inflammatory or demeaning statements that Robinson has made about gender roles, homosexuality and more, previewing a potential faceoff.
▪ Walker formally announced his candidacy on May 20 at a church in Kernersville. Walker, a former Baptist pastor, rode the Tea Party wave to three terms in Congress, The Associated Press reported. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 but finished a distant third in the Republican primary to Ted Budd, who eventually won.
Walker later dropped out of the race, in October, to run for a Congressional seat.
▪ Wells is a former state senator from Hickory who left the legislature to join a crowded Republican primary for lieutenant governor in 2020, which Robinson won. Wells served a term in the state House along with three terms in the Senate. On his campaign website, Wells talks about inflation and “a recession looming on the horizon.”
▪ Morgan made it official Sept. 12 after telling The News & Observer in June that he was considering a run. Morgan, 67, said he has a one-of-a-kind skill set with 44 years of service in state government, 34 years of that on the bench in four different judgeships. His top campaign issues are education, affordable health care, addressing gun violence, “pocketbook issues” and “reformatting” criminal justice.
Lieutenant governor
With Robinson expected to vacate the office of lieutenant governor to run for governor, there will be an open race for the state’s second-highest executive office as well. The role of lieutenant governor doesn’t come with a lot of power, but it can be high profile. In North Carolina, the two top executive roles are not on the same ticket, nor are they often held by people in the same political party.
Republicans running include:
▪ Former state Sen. Deanna Ballard of Watauga County, who is now a consultant for the evangelical organization Samaritan’s Purse. In the Senate, she was an education committee chair.
▪ Peter Boykin of Mebane, who describes himself as the “true ‘We The People,’ grassroots, Americans First, Constitutionalist” candidate.
▪ Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, a state legislator and a teacher in Wilkes County schools.
▪ Allen Mashburn, a pastor and insurance agent from Greensboro.
▪ Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
▪ Hal Weatherman, who has not held elected office but has worked in politics for former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and former U.S. Reps. Sue Myrick and Madison Cawthorn.
Democrats include:
▪ Former state Sen. Ben Clark of Raeford, who unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. House seat last year.
▪ State Sen. Rachel Hunt, who represents a district in Mecklenburg County. She’s the daughter of former four-term Gov. Jim Hunt.
▪ Former state Sen. Raymond Smith of Wayne County, who ran for a third term from a new district, but lost the primary election, and subsequently told WRAL he was planning to run for lieutenant governor.
The Fayetteville Observer reported that Chris Rey, a former three-term mayor of Spring Lake, has dropped out of the race. Rey ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2016. Another former candidate, Delmonte Crawford, says he is now running for Raleigh mayor.
Attorney general
The following have said they will run for the seat left open by Stein:
Democrats:
▪ U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat who announced in October after Republicans drew a congressional map that left him without a seat.
▪ Democrat Tim Dunn of Fayetteville, who spent 33 years in the Marine Corps. Now a colonel in the Marine Reserves, Dunn practices law.
Republicans:
▪ U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, who already has support from the influential Club for Growth.
Republican Tom Murry, a pharmacist and former state legislator from Morrisville, was a candidate but is now running for state Court of Appeals.
State treasurer
With Folwell out of the running, the job of treasurer is up for grabs, too. Two Mecklenburg County lawmakers are running for the position:
▪ State Rep. Wesley Harris, a Charlotte Democrat.
▪ State Rep. John Bradford, a Cornelius Republican.
And a third candidate, also from Mecklenburg, announced this summer.
▪ Gabe Esparza, a Charlotte Democrat who previously served as a senior official in the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced his run for treasurer on Aug. 10. Esparza, if he wins the primary and general election, would be the first Latino treasurer.
Sen. Mike Woodard, a Durham Democrat, had said he was “seriously considering” running for treasurer, but ran for Durham mayor.
State auditor
State Auditor Beth Wood, a Democrat who has been serving since 2009, said in November she won’t run for reelection. Wood earlier pleaded guilty to hit-and-run, a misdemeanor, in connection with a Dec. 8 crash in downtown Raleigh.
Five Republicans had announced runs for the position before Wood announced:
▪ Jack Clark, a certified public accountant.
▪ David Boliek, chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees.
▪ Charles Dingee, former chair of the Wake County Young Republicans.
▪ A.J. Daoud, former NCGOP district chairman.
▪ Jim Kee, a former Greensboro City Council member.
Luis Toledo, a Democrat and former assistant state auditor, declared for the job shortly after Wood’s announcement.
Labor commissioner
Current Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson, a Republican, is not seeking a second term. The commissioner is known for having their photo in elevators across the state, among other things.
The candidates so far:
▪ State Rep. Jon Hardister, a Guilford County Republican in his sixth term who also the majority whip in the House.
▪ Charlotte City Council member Braxton Winston, a Democrat who was first elected to his at-large council seat in 2017.
▪ Republican Luke Farley, an attorney who hasn’t held elected office before, and entered the race in July.
▪ Travis Wilson, a Union County Republican.
State Rep. Ben Moss, a Richmond County Republican serving his second term in the House, dropped out of the race in July.
Superintendent of public instruction
Superintendent Catherine Truitt, who leads the public school system of North Carolina, is running for another term in office. Truitt, a Republican, is serving her first term in office after being elected in 2020.
C.R. “Katie” Eddings, a personal finance teacher at Lee Early College High School in Sanford and Democrat, has announced she’ll run for superintendent.
Mo Green, the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools and former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, is also running as a Democrat for superintendent.
Secretary of state
A spokesperson for incumbent Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, a Democrat who has been serving since 1997, told the N.C. Tribune in December that she plans to run for another term in 2024. She is the first woman elected to a statewide, executive-branch office in North Carolina.
Republicans challenging Marshall:
▪ Gaston County Commission Chair Chad Brown, who unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 primary for secretary of state.
▪ Jesse Thomas of Cary, a former health care executive, who originally announced a run for governor, saying he’ll bring “common sense to Raleigh” and wants to “reset the temperature” of politics.
▪ Darren Eustance, former chair of the Wake County Republican Party.
▪ John Gouch, general manager of a cemetery business.
Supreme Court
Once Morgan, one of the last Democrats on the North Carolina Supreme Court, stepped down from the court, Cooper replaced him with Democratic Court of Appeals Judge Allison Riggs, who is running for a full term in 2024.
In January, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin had announced he was running to challenge Morgan for his seat on the high court. He will now run for the seat held by Riggs.
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This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 6:47 PM with the headline "See who’s running in 2024 for North Carolina governor and other statewide offices."
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