State officials oversee important areas of state government. Today, we are making recommendations in four races: Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, Insurance Commissioner, and Secretary of State. We also expressed support for the state attorney general. Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Treasurer, Agriculture Commissioner, and Labor Commissioner.
deputy governor
North Carolina’s lieutenant governor has a seat on the State Board of Education and a tie-breaking vote in the North Carolina Senate, but the position has nothing more to offer than a pulpit. This job is particularly ineffective if the lieutenant governor is affiliated with a different political party than the governor. That should change.
Democratic state senator and attorney Rachel Hunt would be a strong complement to Josh Stein, who holds a significant lead in the polls in the gubernatorial race. Ms. Hunt is a passionate supporter of public education and a vocal advocate of reproductive rights and voting rights.
Republican Hal Weatherman, a longtime political consultant, wants to further restrict abortion in North Carolina and create a cumbersome Division of Election Integrity to oversee the North Carolina Board of Elections from the lieutenant governor’s office. is proposed.
I recommend Rachel Hunt for Lieutenant Governor.
insurance commissioner
Republican Mike Causey’s tenure as insurance commissioner is in trouble. He lost his role as state fire marshal after he fired and later reinstated fire marshal officials in a political battle with Republicans in Congress. The News and Observer’s investigation also revealed a pattern of hiring with political and personal ties under Mr. Coursey’s leadership, including having a longtime friend drive him around the state. This included paying a salary of more than $80,000.
Causey told the editorial board earlier this year that his friend Roger Blackwell also advises him on policy. That’s not a consolation.
Voters have a strong choice in state Sen. Natasha Marcus. A former member of the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee, Mr. Marcus takes a precise and thorough approach to everything he does. He believes the comptroller’s office needs to be more transparent, especially when it comes to negotiations with insurance companies over rate hikes. He also wants to close the “agreement to rate” loophole that allows insurers to charge policyholders significantly more than the maximum rate allowed.
We are recommending Natasha Marcus for Insurance Commissioner.
NC auditor
Democrat Jessica Holmes was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023 after then-Comptroller Beth Wood resigned, citing inappropriate use of state vehicles. Holmes is currently in the running for a full-term position, but had issues during tryouts. According to WRAL, her issues include declining audit performance and that Holmes has changed the office’s approach, demanding that WRAL and this editorial board I’ve told them that I’m going to put more emphasis on working with internal auditors. “As opposed to the back end, there will be fewer opportunities for news stories, but it will be in the best interest of North Carolinians,” she told WRAL.
we disagree. Such an approach is contrary to typical audit practice and raises serious questions regarding independence, favoritism, and transparency. These front-end conversations don’t necessarily become part of the public record, like an audit. This means North Carolinians may not know who is consulting on the front end and do not have the benefit of a complete understanding of the issues raised in a completed audit.
Like Holmes, Republican candidate Dave Boreek has no experience in accounting. However, Boryek had management experience, and as chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, he created UNC’s first audit committee and helped eliminate the university’s operating deficit.
Libertarian Bob Druck, a certified management accountant, is also running for office. He demonstrated incomplete knowledge of the auditor’s office in an interview with the editorial board.
I have reservations about Boreek. We are troubled by the partisan campaign he has run, including his boasts about ending “woke” DEI programs and policies at UNC. Boryek said he approaches the comptroller’s job with conservative fiscal values, not partisan politics. I hope so. If he wins, his bosses will be voters, not leaders of the North Carolina Republican Party. They expect independence and so do we.
I recommend Dave Boliek for NC Auditor.
secretary of state
When Elaine Marshall was first elected Secretary of State in 1996, she became the first woman elected to the statewide office in North Carolina. Since then, North Carolina has seen much change and growth, but Marshall continues to deftly lead and evolve this office, which is essential to corporate registration and records management.
Marshall is running against former Gaston County Commission Chairman Chad Brown. Mr. Brown touted his conservative credentials, saying he would “protect our elections” even though the secretary of state has no direct authority over North Carolina’s elections.
We strongly recommend Elaine Marshall for Secretary of State.
