Like father, like daughter
State Sen. Rachel Hunt, daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt has already made a name for herself. She's now running for lieutenant governor.
It’s arguably the least powerful statewide office in North Carolina. But it’s also one that has seen an increased spotlight under Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. With Robinson now running for governor, an open seat for lieutenant governor has been created.
Republican political operative Hal Weatherman is looking to keep the seat in GOP hands. Meanwhile, Democratic state Sen. Rachel Hunt (daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt) aims to give a potential Gov. Josh Stein the support he needs to travel out of state without any headaches.
The job of a lieutenant governor largely starts and ends with using the megaphone of the office to amplify personal policy priorities.
But perhaps most importantly, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor when the governor leaves North Carolina state lines. That capability, which is enshrined in the state constitution, has become a major talking point among Democrats fearful of what an acting Governor Robinson could do when Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is traveling, though those concerns haven’t come to fruition.
With Cooper termed out at the end of this year, Hunt is hoping Stein will defeat Robinson at the top of the ticket, and that she can provided added reassurance to Democrats.
If elected lieutenant governor, Hunt would also administratively preside over the Senate. She’s hoping to use her knowledge as a senator and understanding of legislative processes to slow down contentious issues Republican may seek to steamroll through the legislature in 2025 and 2026 with little debate.
Hunt also hopes to use the office to put a statewide spotlight on issues of abortion, childcare and public education.
With renewed attention on the role of a lieutenant governor in recent weeks, I sought to speak with Weatherman and Hunt on the vision they see for themselves if elected. Weatherman’s campaign didn’t respond to an interview request this past week. (I did speak with him at-length ahead of his May runoff, which is available here)
Meanwhile, Hunt agreed to speak from a Raleigh campaign office on Tuesday. Here’s an abbreviated Q&A from that interview:
Q: Why is this office important?
A: This office is really important because we are the second in command. We’ve seen what happened when Kamala Harris decided to run for president. That’s the same position, but for the state.
The lieutenant governor is the acting governor whenever the governor is out of state, which is one of the reasons Governor Cooper could not leave the state very often because he didn’t trust Mark Robinson as the lieutenant governor to not do something crazy.
Q: Why is staying in the legislature not the solution to improving it?
A: There’s not as much leeway to travel the state and talk to all the people. It’s not a statewide position. It’s a districtwide position.
Q: You are the daughter of a former governor. How has that shaped your politics?
A: I grew up seeing how much good state government could do for all the people of the state. People come up to me every day and tell me how much my father did for their family, and these are Republicans, independents and Democrats. With the right people in the legislature, there can be a huge number of things that can be done in North Carolina.
We have got to get our state back on track because the things that are being done right now in the legislature are not helping North Carolina families. And if we continue down this road, we’re going to have a budget deficit. I am here to try to right the ship and help by presiding over the Senate and making sure the right rules are followed because there’s a lot of leeway.
Q: Traditionally, the AG or Lieutenant Governor role has been a stepping stone to the Governor’s Mansion. Is that your ultimate end goal?
A: We’ll see. I don’t know what my end goal is going to be. All bets are on the table. Nothing’s off the table right here. We’ll just see how things shake out, who wins, who loses.
Q: You don’t want to announce something four years ahead of time?
A: No, I don’t. Got to get through this one first. I would love to be able to follow in my father’s footsteps and make a lot of good things happen for people in North Carolina.
Q: Do you see an ability in a Lieutenant Governor Hunt to slow roll some policies you disagree with?
A: Absolutely. I mean, you’re there to try to strategize with your caucus to make things happen that you believe in.
Q: Republicans I’ve heard from in the legislature have said they see the abortion issue as already addressed and that further restrictions won’t be taken up in the next session. What threat do you see?
A: We are very fearful that they’re going to go to a six-week ban. People have said that in the past. They’re, I think, trying to play the election game where you say what most people want to hear, whether or not it’s true. We’ve seen lots of surprises in the legislature that we didn’t see coming.
Q: What would people get from a Lt. Gov. Hunt that they wouldn’t from a Lt. Gov. Weatherman?
A: They would get a common-sense approach to helping all North Carolinians. My issues are access to child care, women’s reproductive health care and good public schools.
I’m exactly the opposite of my opponent, who is an extremist, doesn’t believe women should have any abortion care or reproductive health care, doesn’t believe in public schools, especially funding them, and has never talked about child care.
Q: Why not debate Weatherman?
A: We could have debated, but that was never discussed. We never agreed on a time. And you don’t just throw something out and call newspapers and tell them the other party agreed. That’s so underhanded. Also, I don’t really want to give him a platform to express his extremism and lies.
Q: Regardless of who's in the Governor's Mansion at the end of this cycle, if you're elected, is there anything you would do as acting governor when the governor leaves the state, or is that a bridge too far?
A: If it’s someone that I’m working with like Josh Stein, obviously I would just do whatever he needed me to do. We would have a meeting before he leaves the state to continue or to stand in for him in any way that I need to. If it’s Mark Robinson, that’s going to be a whole different situation.
This is the latest installment in the Candidate Conversation series, which runs every Sunday between now and the election. If you have a candidate you’d like to hear from between now and the November election, please send me a note!