North Carolina Gubernatorial Race: Gubernatorial hopefuls took center stage in North Carolina on Tuesday, as the clock ticked down to the final three days for candidates to solidify their spots on the 2024 election ballots.
Tuesday marked the last chance for candidates to withdraw, reclaim their filing fees, remove their names from the ballots, and possibly pivot to another race.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, affirming his intention announced in January, officially threw his hat into the ring for the governor’s seat. Libertarian contender Shannon Bray also joined the fray.
The filing window slams shut at noon on Friday. In addition to Stein, Democrats entering the fray for the March 5 gubernatorial primary include Chrelle Booker, Mike Morgan, and Marcus Williams. On the Republican side, State Treasurer Dale Folwell and Bill Graham have already filed.
Here are some other noteworthy filings from Tuesday:
– U.S. House District 1: Libertarian Tom Bailey.
– U.S. House District 10: Democrat Ralph Scott.
– U.S. House District 11: Democrat Caleb Rudow.
– Lieutenant Governor: Republican Allen Mashburn. This expands the primary field to six candidates, joining Rivera Douthit, Deanna Ballard, Jeffrey Elmore, Hal Weatherman, and Marlenis Hernandez Novoa.
– Agriculture Commissioner: Republican Colby Hammonds.
– Insurance Commissioner: Democrat Natasha Marcus. Although her filing was anticipated to prompt the withdrawal of David Wheeler from the primary race, as of the 3:14 p.m. update, Wheeler remained in the race, later confirming on social media, “I’m in.”
– State House of Representatives: Notable filings in District 44 included two candidates, Angel Yaklin and Christina Aragues, sparking a Libertarian primary. Both hail from Fayetteville.
North Carolinians are gearing up to elect 14 representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives for two-year terms. The U.S. Senate seats will not see another ballot until 2026 (Sen. Thom Tillis) and 2028 (Sen. Ted Budd).
All 170 seats in the General Assembly (two-year terms) will be up for grabs, as will the 10 Council of State offices (four-year terms), including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, commissioners of agriculture and insurance, secretaries of state and labor, auditor, treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction.
Joining North Carolina in hosting primaries for both parties on Super Tuesday are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. Iowa, with the Republican caucus on Jan. 15, will hold the Democratic primary on March 5.
ALSO READ: Navigating Abortion Politics in the 2024: GOP Presidential Race
Also Read: Averitt Expands Presence with State-of-the-Art Facility in South Alabama Logistics Park