Jeff Jackson and Dan Bishop are running against each other to replace Stein as attorney general

Dan Bishop is seeking to become the first Republican elected attorney general in North Carolina since Reconstruction more than a century ago. Standing in his way is Jeff Jackson, the Democratic candidate.

Jackson and Bishop are currently members of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing districts in the Charlotte area. They all used to work in the state parliament. Bishop was the lead author of the 2016 law known colloquially as HB2, which banned cities from passing local pro-transgender ordinances and led to a statewide boycott of North Carolina. Jackson, who has never been a member of the ruling party throughout his political career, has few legislative achievements on his record. But his social media presence has earned him a nationwide following.

A WRAL News poll released last week found the race between them was too close to call — Jackson was narrowly ahead of Bishop and 14% of voters were still undecided.

Polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. More than 50% of registered voters in North Carolina cast their ballots before Election Day.

The large number of undecided voters found in the poll just a week before the election is remarkable given the power of the office – it has attracted tens of millions of dollars in spending from the candidates and outside groups seeking to influence the outcome – and also from him status as a launching pad for higher offices. The last five attorneys general have run for governor, including current Gov. Roy Cooper and Josh Stein, who replaced Cooper as attorney general in the 2016 election and is now seeking to replace him as governor as well.

Stein has campaigned this year by pointing to his record as attorney general, including using the office to target pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic, big tech companies over antitrust violations and the e-cigarette company JUUL over marketing to children gain weight.

Consumer protections like these are a large part of the office’s mission, and the attorney general has wide latitude in deciding which companies to target or not for suspected violations.

The office also manages the state crime lab, which analyzes drugs, DNA, ballistic evidence and other evidence. In addition, all appeals in criminal cases are processed.

And the office has the ability to get involved in political lawsuits.

Stein went to court multiple times to fight the Trump administration on issues such as health care and a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries. Republican attorneys general across the country have battled the Biden administration on issues such as student loan debt relief and climate change efforts. Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a lawsuit in late 2020 to help overturn the results of that year’s presidential election, which Bishop joined with a supporting brief.