RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein won the race for governor, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. The Associated Press called the race for Stein just before 9 p.m.
With just under 69% of precincts reporting, Stein had 53.54%% of the vote to Robinson’s 41.56%.
“Tonight, the people of North Carolina resoundingly embraced a vision that’s optimistic, forward-looking and welcoming — a vision that is about creating opportunity for every North Carolinian,” Stein said at his election night watch party in Raleigh after the race was called for him. “We chose hope over hate. Competence over chaos. Decency over division. That’s who we are as North Carolinians.
“And I am so honored that you have elected me to be your next governor.”
In March, Stein defeated four other party competitors to win the Democratic nomination for governor, including former state Supreme Court Associate Justice Mike Morgan. Early on, Stein garnered the endorsement of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who was Stein’s predecessor as attorney general.
Stein was first elected as attorney general in 2016 and was reelected in 2020 in a tight race against Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill.
Stein is a former state legislator and the son of civil rights lawyer Adam Stein. Stein’s campaign spent much of the race labeling Robinson as an extremist, including using the lieutenant governor’s past comments about abortion in ads.
The start of Stein and Robinson’s campaigns were very different, with Robinson kicking his campaign off in Alamance County with thousands in attendance versus Stein’s curated kick-off at Shaw University with around 150 attendees, including media.
Robinson’s campaign struggled as the November election approached following a CNN report exposing a past social media account allegedly connected to him that posted incendiary comments on adult forums in 2009. Robinson denied the reports and sued CNN for defamation, but he has yet to present evidence that the story was without merit.
“My head is held high,” Robinson said during his concession speech in Raleigh. “The reason why my head is held high is because I ran a race where I did not have to lie. I did not have to tell half-truths. I did not have to spend millions and millions of dollars demonizing anyone.”
Stein used a massive war chest — he raised more than 10 times the amount of Robinson — to flood airways with negative ads about Robinson, targeting his views on abortion and past safety citations assessed to a child care facility tied to Robinson and his wife.
After a campaign filled with mudslinging and negative ads, Stein took a unifying tone in his victory speech.
“We must reject the politics of division, fear and hate that keep us from finding common ground,” Stein said. “We will go further when we go together – not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as Independents, but as North Carolinians. And I know we can do this because I know who we are.”
Stein will be the fifth Democrat to hold the office since 1993. Former Gov. Pat McCrory is the only Republican to have held the office in the last 30-plus years.
