Why I’m Running

Running for the United States Senate wasn’t part of the plan. I was happy serving the people of North Carolina from right here at home.

Time after time, voters have put their trust in me as a public servant to help give them opportunities and ease their burdens. From adding hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs to expanding Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of folks across the state to increasing teacher pay and much more – I had to work across the aisle, both as Governor and as Attorney General, to earn and keep that trust.

The things we accomplished didn’t always make the headlines, but they often made a difference for working families in our state.

Yet some of the biggest challenges facing folks in North Carolina right now are not unique to our state – and they’re too big to be solved from Raleigh.

I’m talking about inflation outpacing take-home pay. Parents paying more to feed families with less in the shopping cart. Seniors forced to choose between lifesaving prescriptions and keeping the lights on at home. Funding for affordable health care getting ripped away from folks struggling to get by, just to be funneled into the pockets of the ultra-wealthy.

Those kinds of burdens must be addressed. Elected officials need to recognize them, care about them and face them head on.

No, I didn’t plan on running for Senate. I walked out of the Governor’s residence and traded in my dress shoes for sneakers. I spent time with my family and caught up on my reading. I sat in church on Sunday mornings reflecting on the privilege of getting to serve North Carolina.

But when I read the news and saw the chaos and horror coming out of Washington, I couldn’t sit back any longer. We need leaders in Washington DC who are present, steady and accountable to those who elected them.

North Carolinians deserve an independent leader ready to fight for their interests — and I’m ready to do that.

So I’m running for U.S. Senate – where I can make the biggest positive difference for North Carolina’s hardworking families and seniors on fixed incomes. Getting there, however, will be no simple feat.

There are many politicians who are determined to take our country in a dark direction and set people against each other as a means to stay in power.

I and many others don’t govern that way. We are working hard every day to build this movement. I’ve been traveling all across the state, listening to the concerns of North Carolinians and talking with them about how the results of this race will affect their everyday lives.

This work matters, and we must keep pushing forward. A better future — one that prioritizes the needs of working families — will require us to flip Senate control. And the pathway to taking back Washington runs straight through North Carolina.

I’ve been humbled to serve this state in many capacities and I’m not going to stop. Thank you for continuing to put your trust in me.