Two Democrats accuse 2026 primary candidate of racist remarks
Democratic state Sen. Graig Meyer says former state Rep. Michael Wray in 2014 told him to “watch out for the blacks.” Wray says it didn’t happen.
A North Carolina state lawmaker and a former state House member dove headlong into a competitive state House primary, accusing a former Democratic colleague of making racist remarks years earlier.
Democratic state Sen. Graig Meyer of Orange County wrote in a Substack post that when he was a new member of the General Assembly, then-Democratic Rep. Michael Wray approached him after a 2014 political event with President Barack Obama.
“Wray pigeonholed me to tell me to “watch out for the blacks” and a bunch of other gossipy advice about being in the House Democratic Caucus,” Meyer wrote. “I was like… our black President just walked off stage!”
Former Democratic state Rep. Raymond Smith Jr. of Wayne County replied to Meyer’s post to describe an uncomfortable exchange he said he had with Wray in a hallway at the Legislative Building several years ago.
“I think Whites should marry Whites and Blacks should marry Blacks; don’t you?” Smith recalled Wray telling him. “I was immediately astonished.”
Meyer is hosting a fundraiser later this month for state Rep. Rodney Pierce, a Halifax County Democrat who beat Wray in a primary last year and is running against him again. Meyer repeated the allegation in an interview with The Assembly.
Wray denied the allegation in a statement to The Assembly. “Sen. Meyer is letting his imagination run away.” Wray said. “His allegations are complete bullshit. Never happened.”
