North Carolina lieutenant governor candidates running in the 2024 primary election
With current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson running for governor, the seat is open, and it's shaping up to be a highly saturated race. After candidate filing ended in December, there were three candidates from the Democratic Party and 11 from the Republican Party.
The role of lieutenant governor in North Carolina boils down to overseeing the Senate, only voting if there is a tie; being the next in line to governor; sitting as a member on the Council of State, the North Carolina Board of Education, the North Carolina Capital Planning Commission, and the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges; and serving as the chairman of the eLearning Commission, according to the lieutenant governor website.
Voting for the position will appear on the primary ballot on March 5.
Key 2024 election dates: When is the North Carolina Primary? Mark these key 2024 election dates
Democrats
Rachel Hunt
Hometown: Charlotte
Current profession: Senator serving District 42, attorney
Previous experience: Served two terms in the N.C. House of Representatives.
Key issues: Hunt hopes to invest in the public school system, expand access to healthcare, help local businesses, increase broadband internet access and make childcare and healthcare more affordable. She wants to advocate for women's choice in reproductive care. She supports common-sense red flag laws, protecting the environment and veterans' access to affordable housing.
Mark H. Robinson
Hometown: Harrells
Current profession: Entrepreneur
Previous experience: Military veteran, created scholarships to support first-generation college students.
Key issues: Much of his campaign website and running issues are built on his foundational commitment to Christianity. He hopes to be a voice in conversations around education, the economy and the environment.
Ben Clark
Hometown: Fayetteville
Current profession: Trains soldiers in information technology
Previous experience: Senator for District 21 (from 2013-2023), retired Lieutenant Colonel for United States Air Force.
Key issues: Clark supports healthcare access, support for veterans and college affordability. He hopes to fund training and licensure programs to boost middle class job opportunity and implement paid family leave, increased pay for childcare and teachers. He supports a woman's right to choose, clean energy and trash cleanup of waterways and local control of schools.
Who is running for Governor? Voter Guide: Meet the candidates running for NC governor
Republicans
Rivera Douthit
Hometown: Mooresville
Current profession: Small business owner
Previous experience: Critical care nurse, Christian ministry leader, book author.
Key issues: Douthit hopes to prevent far left ideologies from being taught in the school system while in turn bringing the bible into schools. She hopes to remove pornographic material from libraries, eradicate sex trafficking, protect the right to bear arms, and she plans to advocate for veterans, police officers and first responders. She holds an anti-abortion stance.
Jeffrey Elmore
Hometown: North Wilkesboro
Current profession: N.C. House of Representatives 94th district (6 terms), teacher in Wilkes County Schools
Previous experience: President of Professional Educators of North Carolina, board member of Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission which supervises the Head Start program.
Key issues: Elmore plans to reduce taxes, invest in law enforcement and fight 'woke' curriculum in schools. He supports the Opportunity Scholarship Fund which allows families to use scholarship money to pay for private school tuition. While serving in the House, Elmore voted to repeal the Pistol Purchase Permit, which required a background check before purchasing a handgun, in the legislature and helped pass anti-abortion legislation.
Marlenis Hernandez Novoa
Hometown: Raleigh
Current profession: Paramedic Firefighter, business owner
Previous experience: No previous political experience.
Key issues: Hernandez Novoa believes healthcare premiums are too high. She hopes to combat drug addiction by increasing funding to the police and cracking down on the selling and distribution of opiates, like Fentanyl. She believes teachers are not paid enough and that more school updates need to be made. She hopes to lower taxes to make daily life more affordable.
Allen Mashburn
Hometown: Robbins
Current profession: Christian minister and Christian radio host
Previous experience: No previous political service experience.
Key issues: Mashburn plans to invest more in trade and community colleges, remove pornographic books from schools, change the serving terms for the State Board of Education roles, support teachers and make September 17 "Celebrate Freedom Week" required in schools. He also wants to increase funding for memory care facilities. Mashburn is anti-abortion and he supports 2nd amendment rights as well as the death penalty for Fentanyl sellers. He believes elections should only take place on one day with mail-in ballots saved for military and disabled individuals.
Jim O'Neill
Hometown: Winston-Salem
Current profession: Forsyth County District Attorney
Previous experience: Assistant District Attorney in Forsyth County.
Key issues: O'Neill considers himself hard on crime. He hopes to expand on-campus security presence to private schools and to combat substance abuse.
Sam Page
Hometown: Eden
Current profession: Rockingham County Sheriff
Previous experience: Veteran, president of North Carolina Sheriff's Association, helped lead Sheriff's for Trump movement.
Key issues: Page will prioritize rehabilitation in the justice system and increase officer safety. He hopes to help solve the border crisis, fight drug and human trafficking, reduce wasteful government spending, support North Carolina farmers, raise teachers' pay, fund school safety efforts and increase government transparency.
Ernest T. Reeves
Hometown: Greenville
Current profession: Entrepreneur
Previous experience: Retired United States Army Communications Officer.
Key issues: Reeves supports safe schools, expanding Medicare and Medicaid, a minimum wage increase, equal pay for women, border security, tax breaks on small businesses, lowering tuition costs for students and improving the VA's claims process. He believes it may be necessary to start a new social security program trust fund for younger people.
Hal Weatherman
Hometown: Wake Forest
Current profession: Founder and president of the Electoral Education Foundation
Previous experience: Chief of staff for former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and former U.S. Rep Sue Myrick.
Key issues: Weatherman hopes to encourage trade work and small business ownership. He wants to give tax incentives to companies participating in the apprenticeship program. He hopes to invest into ports and cold storage facilities to expand North Carolina's agriculture output. He plans to keep taxes low, launch a Critical Needs Strategic Stockpile to address the state's emergency needs, increase mental health services for military people and veterans and create certifications for service-members that transfer to college credit. He supports armed school resource officers. If elected, he wants to create an election integrity unit within his office. Weatherman is anti-abortion.
Seth Woodall
Hometown: Eden
Current profession: Business owner and principal at Seth M. Woodall and Associates
Previous experience: No previous political service experience.
Key issues: Woodall hopes to curb inflation, defend the 2nd amendment, lower taxes, invest in high-speed internet, roadways and ports. He is anti-abortion and does not support 'woke' ideas in education. He wants to increase law enforcement funding and teacher pay. He supports voter ID laws.
Deanna Ballard
Hometown: Blowing Rock
Current profession: Former senator
Previous experience: Former state senator for District 45 (from 2016 to 2023), nonprofit manager for Samaritan's Purse, worked in public affairs under the George W. Bush administration.
Key issues: Ballard hopes to fight for working families and protect students from "woke" agendas in schools. She supports the Opportunity Scholarship which provides funding for students to attend private schools, expanding career and technical work training and protecting 2nd amendment gun ownership rights. She supports voter ID laws that she believes secure elections.
Peter Boykin
Hometown: Mebane
Current profession: Owner of GoRightNews.com, founder of Gays for Trump
Previous experience: Has run for North Carolina House of Representative seats.
Key issues: Boykin, a Constitutionalist, hopes for an education system that encourages career readiness especially in trade work. He supports school choice and he wants to protect 2nd Amendment rights. He is proposing a 25-year moratorium on immigration. Boykin hopes to implement an Internet Bill of Rights which would take up litigation in regard to social media censorship and freedom of speech.
No libertarians are running in this race.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: NC lieutenant governor candidates for 2024 primary election
