North Carolina’s Tight Attorney General Race

Josh Stein (D), left, and Jim O’Niell face off in this year’s North Carolina Attorney General race. Source.

The race for NC attorney general has not been in the news much, but it remains an important position, especially as questions of police brutality and civil rights have come to the forefront as one of the most important issues facing candidates in the 2020 election. Republican District Attorney Jim O’Neill is challenging Democratic incumbent Josh Stein, who has held the position since 2017. 

Attorney General Josh Stein has focused on several key issues, such as the opioid epidemic, robocalls and scammers, and the backlog of rape kits, since taking office. He made national news when he made North Carolina the first state to sue Juul, the e-cigarette company that became popular among teens, in early 2019. Attorney General Stein alleged that the company misrepresented the negative health consequences of their products and targeted underage consumers. As a result, North Carolina has raised the age required to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 and the only Juul flavors sold in North Carolina now are menthol and tobacco. Another notable accomplishment is Stein’s ongoing battle against large pharmaceutical companies and the opioid crisis. Earlier this year, Attorney General Stein came to a settlement with the largest pharmaceutical company in the United States, Mallinckrodt, that would provide money to cover the costs of rehabilitation programs. The opioid crisis has been one of his top priorities, along with the issue of rape kit backlog in North Carolina. In 2018, Attorney General Stein received a $2.1 million grant that is being used to test and organize the 15,000 untested rape kits in local law enforcement offices throughout North Carolina. 

Attorney General Stein plans to continue pursuing many of these issues, including continuing to tackle robocalls and scammers who target North Carolina consumers. Stein joined a voluntary agreement with other attorneys general and some of the country's top telecommunication providers to pledge to reduce the number of illegal robocalls. He has continued to make the protection of seniors and consumers one of his priorities in this upcoming election. Along with this pledge, he also seeks to promote public safety, promote public health, preserve clean air and water, and continue to address North Carolina’s backlogged rape kits. 

Republican challenger District Attorney Jim O'Neill has served as the Forsyth County District Attorney since 2007. As a prosecutor, he focuses on sex offenders and violent criminal offenders. O’Neill has a similar platform to Stein and is choosing to prioritize many of the same issues. However, O’Neill plans to pursue solutions to these issues differently. The biggest difference is O’Neill’s 23 years of prosecutorial experience, whereas Attorney General Stein has none. O’Neill argues that his direct experience with victims and their families gives him a better perspective on the issues that an attorney general is faced with. District Attorney O’Neill has also criticized the manner in which Stein has handled the backlog of rape kits. O’Neill alleged that Stein should have made this a priority from his first day in office, but instead waited to focus on the issue until O’Neill announced his plans to run for office. Additionally, the O’Neill campaign has filed a complaint with the NC Board of Elections after Attorney General Stein aired a commercial in which he stated that O’Neill left thousands of rape kits unattended in his role as district attorney. However, according to the NC Conference of District Attorneys, the rape kits were not under O’Neill’s purview, but rather were the responsibility of the local law enforcement. 

While the race has been largely uneventful, the candidates have made strong statements about each other and have fought over false information. There is no clear leader in the race, but both men are more than qualified for the position. The attorney general represents the state government agencies and departments, provides legal advice, and advises state judges. Both men have had experience with the law and serving the citizens of North Carolina, so it appears the election will be relatively competitive.