Instead of trying to hold on to their seats in Congress, two North Carolina politicians are vying for a high-profile job closer to home: the state attorney general’s seat.
The career paths that Republican Rep. Dan Bishop and Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson are following were once unusual, but as the attorney general position has become more prominent and partisan, it is becoming increasingly common across the country. became more common.
The North Carolina race is one of the most closely watched of the 10 attorney general elections taking place across the country this November. Bishop is the only Republican running in the battleground state, but Jackson will face two other Democrats in the March 5 primary.
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The differences between the candidates are clear. The attorney general has a role, among other things, in how state laws are enforced and whether to defend state laws when challenged in court. And the North Carolina candidates could not be more different in their approaches.
Mr. Jackson said he could, for example, follow the path taken by the Democratic incumbent and refuse to support a law passed last year that bans most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. “I see this job as standing up for people’s basic rights,” Jackson said in an interview. “I’m ready to stand up to the state legislature.”
Bishop, however, said he would defend any law, even if he disagreed with it, unless it was “unconstitutional beyond reasonable debate.”
North Carolina Congressman Dan Bishop speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 20, 2023. He is unopposed in the March 5 Republican primary for North Carolina attorney general. He is running for election on the ballot. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Their state is one of six states with no incumbents on the ballot, including Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and West Virginia. Incumbent senators are expected to try to keep their jobs in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and Vermont.
Most election states have a single-party majority, but purple Pennsylvania has crowded April primary voting for both Republicans and Democrats.
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For so long, the attorney general job has been a gateway to high office, so much so that there’s a joke that “AG” stands for “ambitious governor.” Current North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is running for governor, as are top government lawyers in Washington state and West Virginia. The resumes of former President Bill Clinton and current Vice President Kamala Harris include the attorney general’s name alongside a long list of state governors and senators.
But over the past decade, a pipeline from Congress to the attorney general has developed. Five current attorneys general – Anthony Brown of Maryland, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Tim Griffin of Arkansas, Raul Labrador of Idaho, and Todd Rokita of Indiana – will eventually run for office. He was also previously a member of parliament.
That’s a big change.
“You don’t have to go find 218 people to get votes,” Ellison, a Democrat who has served as a six-term congressman, state representative and head of a public interest law firm, said in an interview. “You say, ‘Team, this is what we’re going to do.'”
Ellison said that while his time in Congress helped him learn about the federal agencies he now interacts with frequently, his time as a trial lawyer was also important in preparing him for his current job. .
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Duties vary by state, but typically include serving as a criminal prosecutor representing the state in court and protecting consumers, the latter often through multi-state lawsuits against businesses. there is.
In recent years, the attorney general has been at the forefront of lawsuits and settlements against pharmaceutical companies and others over the harm caused by prescription opioid painkillers. And most of them came together last year to sue Facebook’s parent company, Meta, alleging that the social media platform’s features were addictive.
However, over the past two decades, it has become more common for attorneys general to work exclusively with colleagues from their own party to challenge federal policies (primarily policies introduced by presidents of the opposing party). Ta.
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Bishop, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus who joined Congress after winning a special election in 2019, said presidents are using regulations to shape policy while Congress is often gridlocked and are pushing boundaries. He said that
“It is often up to AGs to protect fundamental rights and prevent regulatory overreach,” he said.
Bishop supports efforts by Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana to ban the FBI and other government agencies from contacting social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) to get content removed. Then he said. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on March 18.
There was also partisan opposition to the companies. Last year, 13 Republican attorneys general warned the CEOs of 100 of America’s largest companies that there could be legal consequences for using race as a factor in hiring and employment practices. However, so far no lawsuit has been filed.
Meanwhile, during President Donald Trump’s term, Democrats banned travel to the United States from several Muslim-majority countries and pushed more employers to ban contraceptive coverage citing religious or moral objections. The company has repeatedly filed lawsuits over policies such as allowing people to opt out of the offer. Democratic attorneys general also defended former President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul in court, which the Trump administration did not respond to.
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Jackson, a first-term congressman and TikTok-savvy politician, decided to run after a redraw of the congressional map excluded him from the district west of Charlotte that he represents.
It would have taken him years to accumulate seniority and gain significant power in the House of Commons. But he’s looking for a different job now, he said, adding: “Once you’re elected attorney general, your influence will be at its fullest.”
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The primary voters also include Democratic progressive District Attorney Satana DeBerry and practicing attorney Tim Dunn. Mr. Jackson is a major fundraising leader in North Carolina’s congressional delegation and has received support from Democrats.
James Tierney, a former attorney general in Maine, one of seven states where attorneys general are appointed rather than elected, teaches about the attorney general’s job at Harvard Law School. He said people in this position need to be careful not to take solely partisan actions, as that could weaken the government’s influence.
“If the attorney general acts like a member of Congress, he will be treated like one, and he will not have the respect of judges or the qualifications that befit him,” he said.
