Last week, our Closer Look explained how North Carolina found its way into the center of the political universe. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are campaigning hard in the state as its economy rapidly evolves with uneven results, huge demographic shifts are underway, and organized labor attempts to upend the South’s broken economic system. As we said, the Tar Heel state has become something of a pressure cooker.
While last week we focused on how North Carolina found itself at this moment, for this Closer Look, we’re going to explore how the board is currently set, what the Patriotic Millionaires are doing in North Carolina, and what comes next.
The Governor’s Race
The marquee race in North Carolina is the gubernatorial contest between the Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and the Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson.
The candidates could not be more different. Josh Stein has committed to raising the minimum wage, building an economy that works for everyone, and prioritizing North Carolinian families. As Attorney General, he worked hard to hold corporations responsible for their bad behavior and keep North Carolina safe.
Lieutenant Governor Robinson, on the other hand, spends much of his time trying to downplay his racist, homophobic, and misogynist past. It’s not worth exploring his grotesque statements in any detail, but it is impossible to understand the gubernatorial campaign’s dynamic – and indeed, the election’s stakes – if we don’t offer a broad sense of Robinson’s worldview. The Lieutenant Governor has described gay people as “filth”, declared his belief that Christians should be led by men rather than women (while also saying he wants to return to a time before women could vote), engaged in Holocaust denialism while quoting Hitler, criticized the Civil Rights movement, described his disappointment that religious freedom applies to Muslims, and called the children who survived the Parkland school shooting “media prosti-tots.” Unfortunately, this is just a sampling of Robinson’s musings; a full accounting is outside the scope of this particular Closer Look.
The Patriotic Millionaires are unabashedly laser-focused on economic issues, from raising the minimum wage to unrigging the tax code, so you might be wondering why we’re bringing this up. The reason is that Robinson’s remarks, and the media’s focus on them, have enabled the GOP candidate to largely avoid talking about the bread-and-butter issues that voters care about.
While Stein regularly speaks to the economic policies he’d pursue as governor, Robinson seems hellbent on skipping policy discussions altogether, instead focusing on culture war issues that are responsible for turning the nation’s partisan divide into a chasm. The opposition research book on Robinson is such a wellspring of media fodder that journalists are missing just how little we know about Robinson’s policy agenda. Don’t take our word for it: even his website is devoid of policy positions. It’s not an oversight.
While much of his agenda remains deliberately vague, we do know that Robinson has blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for costing him two jobs, and that he’s questioned the use of tax incentives to lure businesses to North Carolina. But these positions are undermined by the company he keeps, the endorsements he’s received, and his stated priorities. We think it’s safe to draw a general conclusion about what Robinson would do for workers and families in North Carolina; in a word, nothing.
One might think that his portfolio of vile rhetorical quips combined with an utter lack of economic substance would be enough to disqualify Robinson to voters and his fellow Republicans. And yet, Robinson managed to win statewide office in 2020 and defeated two other candidates in the GOP primary this spring to secure the nomination for governor. Worryingly, public polling shows the race neck-and-neck. A poll conducted less than two weeks ago by Cygnal showed the candidates tied, while a poll from Emerson College in late April showed Robinson up by a point.
The Patriotic Millionaires are not pollsters, and we’re not in the business of election prognostication. But we are exclusively focused on economic policies. To that end, we believe that “The economy, stupid” was right on the money when James Carville said it in 1992, and it’s still right today. In other words, a failure to draw a meaningful economic contrast may explain what’s going on in North Carolina, and why Democrats are struggling to put this race away.
If Josh Stein wants to win, it’s not enough for him to criticize Mark Robinson (campaigns that only focus on “the other guy runs his mouth a lot” do not have a great track record of success). From now until November, Stein needs to double down on making an affirmative case for his governorship, and that means touting his support for increasing the minimum wage, protecting organized labor, and building an economy that works for everyone.
To be sure, Stein is doing the work. At campaign stops, he has declared that he supports “raising the minimum wage, tackling the rising cost of living, and cutting taxes for the working class.” It’s a good start, but he needs to turn up the volume, and fast. If Stein can ensure his economic message reaches key audiences across the Tar Heel state, he can put an end to Robinson’s dream of a culture war in North Carolina.
As we have said, and as we will continue to say, this is the playbook Democrats must use if they intend to stem the tide of working-class defections to the GOP. It’s true for Josh Stein, and it’s true for Joe Biden.
Red, Whiteville and Blue
The Patriotic Millionaires have been making the case that middle-class workers are best served by focusing on the one thing they have in common: money. That’s the premise of the Great Economy Project, which we’ve written about before.
But rather than rehash what we’ve been up to, we figure it would be better to simply show you. As you might know, the Patriotic Millionaires filmed a documentary about our work in one small North Carolina town, and the trailer is now available online!
Red, Whiteville and Blue shows what happens when Patriotic Millionaires ask the working-class residents of Whiteville, North Carolina (population: 4,657) to set aside their differences and work together to unrig the economy so that it works for everyone. With a little help from us, a group of citizens from across the political spectrum – everyone from single moms to military veterans – begins to discover their shared political power and the opportunity they have to bring change to their community.
It’s a theme the working-class people of North Carolina will hear on repeat between now and the end of the year.
Conclusion
In 2024, all roads lead to Raleigh. From the Presidential race, to the gubernatorial contest, to organized labor building a new economic system one unionization drive at a time, North Carolina will be a primary focus of the political world from now through November. We’re going to fight like hell to fix our broken economy, and while our work requires a national movement, the front lines of this battle run right through North Carolina.
Thank you for joining us in this work.
