Welcome to the governors race edition of ours Under the Dome political newsletter. I’m Dawn Vaughan, Capitol bureau chief for The News & Observer. I’ve been writing the governor’s race newsletter every Sunday for months now, focusing on the two major party candidates: the Democratic Attorney General Jos Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
But they’re not the only ones running. There are also three third-party candidates on your ballots: Libertarian Mike Ross, Michael Wayne Turner of the Green Party and Vinny Smith of the Constitution Party.
I sent all five candidates the race questionnaire for our News & Observer and Charlotte Observer Voter guide. Robinson and Ross have not responded as I write this Friday afternoon, but the three other candidates have, and we have already published their responses. We asked all gubernatorial candidates the same questions, including their bios, policy positions and how they will work with other elected officials statewide.
Candidates’ answers on NC matters
Here is a sample of their answers to our question about preserving or improving North Carolina business climate:
Josh Stein, Democratic Party: “I believe in North Carolina’s promise that if you work hard, where you come from should never limit how far you can go. Instead of waging job-killing culture wars like my opponent, I will continue to fight to invest in our people. I will ensure small businesses can succeed and strengthen career and technical education, especially in our state’s growing, in-demand industries. Finally, I will prioritize infrastructure investments such as broadband, roads and rail.”
Democratic candidate for Governor of NC Josh Stein answers our questions
Michael Wayne Turner, Green Party: “A business environment must be tailored to attract companies that (1) pay their employees a living wage and benefits; (2) do not harm the environment; and (3) not divert profits from the state. Such businesses will bring long-term economic and social benefits to the population. To attract companies that can meet these demands, my administration would emphasize producing a broadly educated and politically aware workforce.”
NC Governor Candidate Michael Wayne Turner answers our questions
Vinny Smith, Constitution Party: “Work on fewer government regulations and come up with a phased approach to ending property taxes, which will encourage business owners/businesses to locate their businesses in NC because owners and executives/employees would pay less taxes and actually own their homes would possess.”
Constitutional Party gubernatorial candidate Vinny Smith answers our questions
You can read their answers to all our questions, plus questionnaires from candidates in other races, in our Voter’s Guide.
Robinson did not vote on Helene’s emergency declaration
Several new polls have been released in the past week on the governor’s race, including the first conducted after the CNN report linking Robinson to pornographic, racist and anti-Semitic comments, which he denies. The East Carolina University survey found that Robinson, who is far behind Stein, has shown a significant decline.
Robinson was back on the campaign trail Friday, meeting with voters and posting photos of himself on social media criticizing the government’s response to Hurricane Helene. As a member of the Council of StateRobinson was expected to vote along with the other nine members, including governor. Roy Cooperexplaining one state of emergency to respond to Hurricane Helene. But Robinson did not vote, CBS 17 reported, posting on social media that his vote “didn’t matter” because it would have passed anyway.
One of the lieutenant governor’s few responsibilities is attending Council of State meetings and voting on statewide declarations like the one he skipped. Members of the Council of State receive six-figure salaries from taxpayers.
Stay informed about #ncpol
Don’t forget to follow our Under the Dome tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay informed. Our new episode posts Monday morning, and I’m joined by the News & Observer’s environmental and climate change reporter Adam Wagner to talk about Helene. If you want to learn more about how political polls work, be sure to check out last week’s episode when I interviewed Jason Husser of Elon University Survey.
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