North Carolina Governor — Josh Stein
Josh Stein is the 76th Governor of North Carolina, serving since January 1, 2025, making him the state's first Jewish governor. Born September 13, 1966, in Washington, D.C., Stein earned degrees from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. Prior to becoming governor, he served 8 years as North Carolina's Attorney General, focusing on consumer protection, opioid settlement negotiations, and rape kit backlog elimination.
Strengthen and fund public schools from pre-K through college with teacher pay raises
Status: in-progress
Governor Stein signed the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 Part 1 and HB 74 providing crop loss grants. He signed HB 412 to support child care programs and HB 67 to strengthen rural health via community college workforce enhancement. He has launched a Task Force on Child Care and advocated for increased education investment, though efforts have been limited by Republican-controlled legislature and budget constraints.
Build an economy that works for everyone, with tax cuts for working families and support for small businesses
Status: in-progress
Stein has signed multiple bills related to economic development including HB 506 (State Investment Modernization Act), HB 50 (law enforcement retirements), and legislation supporting small businesses. He announced business development including SMBC Group's 2,000 jobs in Charlotte and Linde Inc.'s facility in Northampton County. However, he has expressed concern about Republican legislature's automatic tax cut provisions that will reduce future revenue by $2.8 billion in 2 years and $5 billion in 3 years.
Protect reproductive rights and veto any further restrictions on abortion
Status: ongoing
Governor Stein issued Executive Order 16 on January 16, 2025, directing cabinet agencies to safeguard medical privacy and protect doctors providing lawful reproductive health care. The order directs state agencies not to cooperate with efforts to restrict access to birth control and refuses to help investigate doctors who provide legal abortions. No abortion restrictions have been signed into law since he took office, though he remains opposed to the existing 12-week abortion ban and called for a veto of any six-week ban discussed by Republicans.
Improve public safety and address violence with evidence-based strategies
Status: in-progress
Governor Stein signed Executive Order 21 in August 2025 establishing the Gang Prevention and Intervention Task Force and continuing the Office of Violence Prevention. In February 2026, he signed Executive Order 33 directing state agencies to strengthen behavioral health and criminal justice systems with focus on co-responder models, improved involuntary commitment processes, and expanded mental health services. He signed multiple public safety bills including SB 311 (cracking down on burglary, retail theft, hit-and-run offenses).
Help western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene with urgency and resources
Status: ongoing
On his first day in office, Governor Stein signed five executive orders for Hurricane Helene recovery, including accelerating temporary housing (purchasing 1,000 temporary homes), repairing private roads and bridges, reorganizing the executive branch for recovery, establishing an advisory committee with Democratic Mayor Esther Manheimer and Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin as co-chairs, and providing paid leave for state employees participating in relief. He has secured multiple rounds of disaster relief funding, given $50 million to western NC counties in December 2025, and continues advocating for $19 billion in federal funds.
