Josh Stein
Official portrait, 2013
Official portrait, 2013
50th Attorney General of North Carolina
Assumed office
January 1, 2017
GovernorRoy Cooper
Preceded byRoy Cooper
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 16th district
In office
January 1, 2009 – March 21, 2016
Preceded byJanet Cowell
Succeeded byJay Chaudhuri
Personal details
Born
Joshua Harold Stein

(1966-09-13) September 13, 1966 (age 57)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAnna Harris
Children3
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Harvard University (MPA, JD)
WebsiteCampaign website
Official website

Joshua Harold Stein (born September 13, 1966)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who is the 51st Attorney General of North Carolina; he was elected in 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously was a member of the North Carolina Senate representing District 16, located in Wake County.

Stein announced in 2015 that he would run for North Carolina Attorney General in 2016. His former boss, Attorney General Roy Cooper, successfully ran for Governor in 2016. Following his win in the Democratic primary, Stein resigned from his seat in the State Senate to focus on the race for Attorney General. Stein won the general election, defeating Republican Buck Newton.[2] He was the first Jewish person in North Carolina history to win a statewide election.[3] Stein was re-elected in 2020, defeating Republican Jim O'Neill.[4] On January 18, 2023, Stein announced his campaign for Governor of North Carolina in 2024.[5]

Early life and education

Josh Stein was born on September 13, 1966, in Washington, D.C.[6] His family then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina before settling in Chapel Hill. He attended Chapel Hill High School and played on its soccer team.[7] Stein's father, Adam Stein, co-founded North Carolina's first integrated law firm.[8] Stein graduated from Chapel Hill High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College in 1988.[9] After college, he taught English and economics in Zimbabwe.[10] Stein then went on to earn degrees from Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.

Early career

In the 1990s, Stein interned for State Representative Dan Blue. In 1998, he managed the U.S. Senate campaign of John Edwards, which was successful.[11] He then served as Edwards' deputy chief of staff from 1999 to 2000.[12] In 2001, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper appointed Stein as Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection.[7] He held that position until his election to the state senate in 2008.[13] From 2012 until 2016, he served as Of Counsel at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, a regional law firm.

Stein defeated Republican John Alexander to represent the 16th district in the North Carolina Senate in 2008.[14] After being re-elected in 2010, he was elected minority whip by his colleagues.[15]

North Carolina Attorney General

As Attorney General, Stein has sought and received additional funding to test North Carolina's backlog of untested sexual assault kits.[16][17][18] This has led to new arrests in cases involving a 2015 assault and attempted murder in Durham, North Carolina;[19] assaults in 2009 and 2010 in Fayetteville;[20] and a 1993 assault in Winston-Salem.[21]

Stein is among the four state attorneys general negotiating a national settlement framework with drug companies over the nation's opioid epidemic.[22] He helped finalize a settlement with the opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt in which the company agreed to pay $1.6 billion for its role in the epidemic.[23]

In 2018, Stein filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court arguing in favor of the Affordable Care Act.[24] In 2019, Stein became the first attorney general in the country to sue e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL for unlawful marketing to minors.[25]

Stein negotiated eight Anti-Robocall Principles with a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 companies to protect phone users from illegal robocalls.[26] He also launched Operation Silver Shield, an effort to protect older North Carolinians from fraud and scams.[citation needed]

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stein won a preliminary injunction against a Charlotte tow company sued for price-gouging,[27] and announced the investigation of nine North Carolina-based sellers on Amazon who are accused of raising prices on coronavirus-related products, including hand sanitizer and N-95 masks.[28]

The Legislature voted to remove Stein as their legal representation before the courts on August 21, 2021, after he refused to appeal the findings of a lower court that a North Carolina state law that disenfranchised anyone convicted of a felony was unconstitutional. Stein cited he had been waiting for the ruling to be formally filed. Legislative leaders alleged Stein was "slow-walking" the case in order to allow felons to vote in the next election and used these claims to justify his immediate removal.[29][30][better source needed]

2024 gubernatorial campaign

On January 18, 2023, Stein formally announced his candidacy for the office of governor of North Carolina in the 2024 election.[11]

Personal life

Stein is married to Anna Harris Stein and has three children; Sam, Adam, and Leah.[10] He is a former YMCA basketball and J.C.C. soccer coach.[9]

Electoral history

2008 North Carolina Senate, 16th district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein 58,357 60.83
Republican John Alexander 37,586 39.17
Total votes 95,943 100.00
2010 North Carolina Senate, 16th district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein (inc.) 32,248 54.89
Republican Michael Beezley 24,466 41.64
Libertarian Stephanie Watson 2,040 3.47
Total votes 58,754 100.00
2012 North Carolina Senate, 16th district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein (inc.) 69,405 100.00
Total votes 69,405 100.00
2014 North Carolina Senate, 16th district election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein (inc.) 42,422 67.11
Republican Jason Mitchell 20,791 32.89
Total votes 63,213 100.00
2016 North Carolina Attorney General primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein 510,003 53.37
Democratic Marcus Williams 445,524 46.63
Total votes 955,527 100.00
2016 North Carolina Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Stein 2,276,410 50.22
Republican Buck Newton 2,256,178 49.78
Total votes 4,532,588 100.00
2020 North Carolina Attorney General election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Josh Stein (incumbent) 2,713,400 50.13% -0.14%
Republican Jim O'Neill 2,699,778 49.87% +0.14%
Total votes 5,413,178 100.00% N/A

See also

References

  1. ^ "Josh Stein's Biography". Vote Smart.
  2. ^ Gannon, Patrick (November 29, 2013). "Josh Stein says he'll run for NC Attorney General in 2016". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Jewish Firsts in North Carolina Politics". November 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "NC Attorney General Josh Stein wins reelection". newsobserver.com/. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. ^ "NC Attorney General Josh Stein to run for governor". Abc 11. January 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Josh Stein (D-NC)". CQ Press. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Anderson, Bryan (September 25, 2022). "How NC Attorney General Josh Stein is bracing for his next big political fight". WRAL. Capitol Broadcasting Company. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "The fight goes on for Adam Stein". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. ^ a b N.C. SENATE DISTRICT 16. The News and Observer. October 25, 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Meet Josh". Josh Stein for Attorney General. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Maurer, Kevin (January 18, 2023). "Josh Stein Makes His Case". The Assembly. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  12. ^ Helms takes aim at court. The News and Observer. December 2, 2000.
  13. ^ Sen. Josh Stein - a different seat at the table. The News and Observer. January 28, 2009.
  14. ^ Dalesio, Emery (November 5, 2008). Democrats likely to keep hold of state legislature. The Charlotte Observer.
  15. ^ "NC Senate Democrats choose leaders". The News & Observer. December 18, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  16. ^ DeWitt, Dave (January 29, 2019). "NC AG Stein Calls For More Funding To Test Backlogged Rape Kits". wunc.org. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  17. ^ Donovan, Chelsea (January 30, 2019). "Attorney General announces Survivor Act; $6 million to combat rape test kit backlog". wect.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  18. ^ DeGrave, Sam. "Attorney General announces $2M grant to begin clearing NC's 15,000 untested rape kits". Citizen Times. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  19. ^ "4 Year Old Sexual Assault Cold Case Solved". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  20. ^ "DNA Used to Charge Man in Series of Cold Case Rapes in Cumberland County". wfmynews2.com. May 7, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  21. ^ "Rape Kit Test Leads to Arrest of 71-Year-Old Man in 1993 Assault". wfmynews2.com. September 18, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  22. ^ WECT Staff (October 21, 2019). "N.C. among four states that reach $48B settlement framework with drug companies over opioid epidemic". wect.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  23. ^ Zezima, Katie. "Drug manufacturer Mallinckrodt to pay $1.6 billion to settle opioid claims". Washington Post. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  24. ^ Emert, Jennifer (December 18, 2018). "NC joins the legal fight over ACA; how the recent TX ruling could affect your benefits". WLOS. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  25. ^ WRAL (October 23, 2019). "North Carolina the first in the country to file lawsuits against e-cigarette companies". WRAL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  26. ^ "Attorney General Josh Stein leads 51 attorneys general, 12 companies in fight to stop robocalls". WNCT. August 22, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  27. ^ "AG wins preliminary injunction against Charlotte tow company sued for price-gouging". WSOC. May 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  28. ^ "Attorney General Josh Stein's office goes after N.C. based Amazon price gougers". WNCT. March 29, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  29. ^ Woodhouse, Dallas (August 24, 2021). "Lawmakers fire AG Stein for refusing to appeal felon voting ruling". Carolina Journal. John Locke Foundation. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021.
  30. ^ https://files.constantcontact.com/b25a1294701/6a5e1a16-bf1d-457b-a460-a97dd12e6e48.pdf[bare URL PDF]

Further reading

External links

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