Exercising Our Freedoms
On this Memorial Day weekend, we want to pause and remember the men and women who died while serving in the US Military. Those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can choose to live free. In world history, the freedoms Americans enjoy are rare. Our form of government, which many have fought and died to preserve, can quickly unravel without civic engagement.
In exercising those hard-fought freedoms, each party has chosen who will represent them on the ballot in November.
For statewide races, North Carolina is a “photo finish” state. Very competitive Presidential and Governor races will quickly overshadow down-ballot. Candidate and outside spending just for our Governor’s race will be well north of $100 Million – unprecedented! This spending level will create a lot of “noise” down-ballot candidates must overcome.
The candidate choices before us are beginning to be like night and day. The NC Ag Partnership will contrast the candidates with accurate information. We will cut through the noise and spin to bring you the facts about how the candidates approach governing the critical Council of State agencies.
The Commissioner of Agriculture race pits Commissioner Steve Troxler, a farmer who successfully founded, grew, and steered his family farm through increasingly tricky financial and regulatory headwinds, against Dr. Sarah Taber, a political operative with a Ph.D. who consults with some small farmers and businesses on very narrow regulatory issues. So far, we have not heard that she has ever made a payroll. Both candidates have starkly different governing approaches.
The Commissioner of Labor nominees have been chosen. Again, the two candidates could not have more different world views. Luke Farley is an attorney who has spent his career helping businesses navigate important but confusing state and federal labor regulations. A candidate aiming to protect workers without burdening businesses faces Braxton Winston, a New England prep school, Davidson College graduate elected to the Charlotte City Council through the social justice/ labor union movement. The best we can tell is that he has never made a payroll.
We will also be following the races for Attorney General and the one open slot on the NC Supreme Court. More to come!
The NC Ag Partnership has a proven strategy to reduce the noise and engage voters to vote on critical down-ballot races. We appreciate your continued support!
Enjoy the freedoms provided to us this weekend by those who have gone before us. Let’s get to work and exercise those freedoms through the ballot box this coming November.