Black PACs in NC join together to drive voter turnout. Why they endorsed these Democrats

Several Black political action committees from across North Carolina joined forces on Wednesday as they endorsed a slate of statewide candidates and talked about how they’ll work to get out the vote among Black voters.

Melvin “Skip” Alston of the George C. Simkins Jr. Memorial PAC in Greensboro said that while each group made its own endorsements, they had “substantial agreement” in their slate, made up entirely of Democrats.

At a news conference in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, Alston said as the 2024 election approaches, “it is more important than ever that we stand together in our shared commitment to the principles and values that matter most to our communities.”

Alston said those values include leaders who:

▪ share a vision of economic growth and “understand that when business and government work together, they can create an environment where economic opportunity flourishes for everyone,”

▪ have a “proven track record of being champions for the African American communities and other minority groups who have been overlooked for far too long,”

▪ “protect and expand access to reproductive health care, ensuring that women have the autonomy and the support they need to make decisions about their own bodies,”

▪ are committed to maintaining Medicaid expansion,

▪ want to provide a “quality education system for our next generation and adequate and fair funding for our HBCUs,”

▪ and are committed to “foster partnerships that drive innovation, create sustainable jobs and lift up communities that have long been underserved and overlooked.”

The other Black PACs, some nearly 100 years old, joining Alston and the Simkins PAC included the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the Bladen County Improvement Association. Alston said the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County supports the coalition of PACs, but is not releasing its endorsement list until Sept. 8.

Black PACs endorse Stein over Robinson

The slate announced during a news conference in front of the N.C. General Assembly included all 10 of the Democratic candidates for the Council of State statewide offices and all four Democrats running statewide for judicial seats, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris for president. If Harris wins, she will be the first woman, first person of Asian descent and first Black woman president.

The slate of candidates included both Black and white candidates, including Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein for governor. Stein, who is white, is running against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is the state’s first Black lieutenant governor and would be the first Black governor.

Stein talked about his father, Adam Stein’s, role as a civil rights lawyer.

“My dad moved our family to Charlotte in 1967 so that he could join Julius Chambers and James Ferguson to form North Carolina’s first integrated law firm, and they won path-breaking victories in our nation’s legal struggle against discrimination and for equality,” Stein said.

Steve Bowden, of the 75-year-old Simkins Memorial PAC, said that each PAC made their endorsements based on their own communities’ needs. Addressing the PACs’ decision not to endorse Robinson, Bowden said, “we hope that the united front” in endorsing Stein “shows to our Black community where the leadership that they’ve depended on so many years, is on that question.”

In a statement, Robinson’s campaign spokesperson said that “as North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson knows firsthand that Black voters are not a monolith – and that the Democrat party has been taking them for granted for decades.”

“Mark Robinson will be a governor for Carolinians of all backgrounds and walks of life,” said Mike Lonergan, Robinson’s spokesperson.

Black women ‘have to be twice as good’

Among the Democrats endorsed by the PACs is State Auditor Jessica Holmes, who Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper appointed to finish the term of Beth Wood, who resigned after a hit-and-run and being investigated for misuse of her state-owned vehicle. Wood pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in both cases. Holmes is the first Black woman on the Council of State. Wood, a Democrat, has endorsed Holmes’ Republican opponent, and questioned Cooper’s appointment of Holmes.

Instead of being chosen based on qualifications, Wood previously told The News & Observer, “I think she was picked because of race and gender, hoping to make her more electable.” Holmes previously served as chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners and ran unsuccessfully for labor commissioner.

Holmes said at the Wednesday news conference that the “rhetoric that is going around about whether or not [Harris] is qualified, is very similar rhetoric as to whether I am qualified for my position. There are people who talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, like it’s a bad thing, but what I say to those people is that oftentimes, particularly we as Black women, have to be twice as good as our opponents in order to win.”

Holmes said that to her, DEI means “definitely earned it by being twice as good.”

Holmes said “the beauty about the collaboration that you see today is unity. Unity on behalf of all North Carolinians, but also regarding socioeconomic status, educational backgrounds, disabilities, diversity in every way.”

Get out the vote effort

Marionna Poke-Stewart of the Raleigh Wake Citizens Association said that the PACs will target communities where people aren’t registered to vote or don’t vote.

“Democracy is on the ballot on Nov. 5,” she said.

Poke-Stewart said that they’ll help work to “remove the barriers to voting.”

Alston described the PACs as “a coalition of progressive leaders and community advocates committed to shaping a brighter future for all North Carolinians.” He said they’d use the PACs’ power in their communities to drive turnout by mobilizing together for voter registration drives, door-to-door canvassing, training and transportation to the polls.

Endorsements

Here are the candidates endorsed by the Black PACs coalition:

▪ President and Vice President: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

▪ Governor: Josh Stein

▪ Lieutenant governor: Rachel Hunt

▪ Attorney General: Jeff Jackson

▪ State Auditor: Jessica Holmes

▪ Agriculture Commissioner: Sarah Taber

▪ Insurance Commissioner: Natasha Marcus

▪ Labor Commissioner: Braxton Winston III

▪ Secretary of State: Elaine Marshall

▪ Superintendent of Public Instruction: Mo Green

▪ State Treasurer: Wesley Harris

▪ N.C. Supreme Court: Allison Riggs

▪ N.C. Court of Appeals: Carolyn Jennings Thompson, Ed Eldred and Martin Moore

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