Natalie Murdock, candidate for NC Senate District 20

Name: Natalie Murdock

Political party: Democrat

Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 38

Campaign website: https://natalie-murdock.com/

Occupation: Chief strategist/small business owner of Murdock Anderson Consulting

Education: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — B.A. Political Science and Communication Studies; Yale Campaign School (YCS) — 2019 graduate, Public Involvement in Transportation Planning; National Transit Institute Group Facilitation Training; UNC School of Government — 2012, Conflict Resolution Training; Dispute Settlement Center — 2013

Have you run for elected office before? 1. Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor: 2018 to 2020 2. NC State Senate District 20: 2020-Present

Please list highlights of your civic involvement: NC Institute of Medicine Fellow: 2021-2022; NC Institute of Medicine Task Force on the Future of Local Public Health member: 2021 -2022; North Carolina Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs: 2022-Present; Performance Management Advisory Committee member: 2021-Present; UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment: board member; UNC-Chapel Hill Sustainability Council member; Durham Rotary; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc — Durham Alumnae Chapter

What are the three issues that you see as most important to your district and what will you do to address them?

Economic development and growth: Chatham and Durham are growing with new residents and jobs. Growth must be equitable and inclusive focusing on local recruitment and hiring.

Abortion access and reproductive rights: I pledge to fight for full access to safe and legal abortions, birth control and reproductive rights.

Protecting the environment: I will continue to not only fight to protect our environment (i.e. water quality in Chatham), but to ensure that diverse voices are heard and centered.

At a time when costs are rising, state government has a surplus. How should it be used?

With so much money in our rainy day funds, I would like to put that money into funding education and give that money back to the people through gas tax rebates, rebates for purchasing school supplies and other programs as over a dozen of other states did across the nation. This was a tough year for working people and not providing additional economic relief to them as inflation made it difficult for them to make ends meet was a substantial missed opportunity in this year’s budget.

Will you vote for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina?

Yes.

What has the legislature gotten right, and what has it gotten wrong, about public education in North Carolina?

Upholding our state constitution by providing our children with a sound basic education is the least we can do. Counties across the state are putting school bonds on the ballot to close funding gaps created at the state level. We need to increase teacher pay, fully restore our teaching fellows program and provide teachers with the freedom to do the jobs they were taught to do. Our students need to learn all of their history, the good and the bad.

Should North Carolina change its abortion laws? How?

There should be fewer restrictions on abortion after 20 weeks.

Please add anything else voters should know about your position on the legality or availability of abortion in North Carolina.

I believe that full access to reproductive health care is a basic human right. All women and birthing people should have the resources they need to make sound and safe reproductive health care issues. Birth control should be covered by insurance and be free. I believe that a woman has a right to choose what she wants to do with her body and will continue to protect a woman’s right to choose. In my first term, I co-sponsored SB 167 — Remove Barriers/Gain Access to Abortion Act.

Should medical marijuana be legalized in North Carolina?

Yes.

What, if anything, should the legislature do to shape curriculum dealing with topics of race, sexuality and gender?

We need to be building our children up so that they can ask those difficult questions and obtain the information to become critical thinkers and form their own opinion. I enjoy collaborating with parents and teachers and am always thrilled to do so. With that said, as legislators we also need to know when to step out of the classroom and allow teachers to do their job of teaching age appropriate lessons. We should fund education but not try to micromanage our educators across the state.

Do you accept the results of the 2020 presidential election?

Yes.