Democrat Josh Stein wins North Carolina governor's race, AP reports
Democrat Josh Stein has won the gubernatorial race in North Carolina, defeating Republican candidate Mark Robinson, The Associated Press reported.
Stein, who has served as North Carolina's Attorney General since 2017, cruised to victory on Tuesday, securing his first term as the new governor of North Carolina.
Stein will assume the position from Gov. Roy Cooper, who has served as the governor of North Carolina since taking office in 2017. Cooper officially as his successor in August 2023.
For the first time since 1972, the state's two major gubernatorial candidates did not participate in a debate prior to the governor's race.
Stein's gubernatorial campaign focused on bettering public education, driving economic security, addressing the affordability of housing and improving public safety, among other key issues.
Robinson's campaign focused largely on the economy with an emphasis on reforming the regulatory system, cutting taxes and easing inflation.
In September 2024, controversial comments allegedly written by Mark Robinson on a pornographic message board surfaced online via a . The report claims that on a website called "Nude Africa," Robinson made a series of comments between 2008 and 2012 where he and claimed that he would "take Hitler over any of the [redacted] that's happening in Washington right now."
On Oct. 15, Robinson over the September report, calling it "reckless" and "defamatory."
showed that support for Robinson dropped following the release of the CNN report. This led Stein to a two-digit lead over Robinson before the end of September.
Stein in Western North Carolina
Mission HCA lawsuit
In a rare and historic case of legal action in the mountains, Attorney General Josh Stein announced in December 2023 that he would , a multi-billion dollar for-profit operator of healthcare facilities that bought Mission Health.
Stein claimed that HCA failed "to comply with the Asset Purchase Agreement it executed when it purchased Mission Health System in 2019."
Months later in April 2024, a was filed in the Western District of North Carolina, claiming HCA Healthcare of not properly compensating its workers. Workers claimed that their time cards were submitted with inaccurate hours, resulting in inaccurate compensation.
Pactiv Evergreen lawsuit
In May 2024, Stein announced a on behalf of the state's Department of Commerce.
The lawsuit says that the company "abruptly closed" Canton's paper mill in 2023, which breached a 2014 grant agreement with the Department of Commerce. Therefore, Stein demanded that the company repay $12 million to the state.
In October 2024, a court rejected an attempt by Pactiv Evergreen to dismiss the lawsuit Stein filed in May.
