The Assembly: “In a drab conference room at the North Carolina Department of Justice last Friday, Attorney General Josh Stein—shirt sleeves, no tie—was relaxed and confident. He seemed too at ease for a man on the precipice of launching a nearly two-year campaign for the state’s most high-profile office.
But he was keen to take his campaign talking points for a test drive ahead of Wednesday’s announcement that he is running for the Democratic nomination for governor.
“I’m a fighter,” said Stein in an exclusive interview with The Assembly. “It’s how I’ve been as attorney general, working on behalf of people who have encountered real tough challenges, and I’ve been on their side. And that’s exactly what I want to do as governor.”
Stein, 56, has been the presumptive Democratic successor for term-limited Roy Cooper for months, if not years. But his path to office is still rocky. He has strong support from party leadership, but doesn’t yet command passion from the base; his likely Republican opponent will dominate headlines and test Stein’s campaign toughness; and his long record as attorney general will provide fodder for campaign ads on both sides.
One-on-one interviews can be a way to get a candidate to say something interesting when they’re more relaxed and candid. Stein resisted—he was warm and friendly, but didn’t budge an inch from his talking points. He tied himself closely to Cooper, his mentor and former boss. Pressed for any differences, he rattled off a list of attributes he respects about Cooper while joking that he spends a lot more time on Twitter than the governor.
“I’m sure there are differences,” said Stein. “I mean, I don’t even agree with myself a hundred percent of the time. So I’m sure there are going to be some differences. But in the main, we share a lot of the same values and have a lot of the same views on how state government can be used to help other people.””