Lincoln Republicans endorse Democratic candidates

TO THE EDITOR:

There was a time decades ago when people researched candidates and voted for the person they thought would do the best job.

Now most people seem to avoid doing their own research and instead vote a straight Republican or Democratic ticket.

That is certainly much easier, but this year North Carolina has three critical races where it is very important to vote for the person and not the party.

The Lincoln Republicans of Burke County have done our research, and we want to encourage all Republicans to strongly consider voting for Josh Stein over Mark Robinson, Jeff Jackson rather than Dan Bishop, and, if you have any friends whose children are attending public schools, Mo Green instead of Michele Morrow.

Josh Stein will probably be a very good Governor, but at this point he is the only reasonable choice. Mark Robinson’s own words have revealed him to be a misled and troubled person.

From “Some folks need killing” to “Slavery was not bad. I would certainly buy a few,” voting for Robinson for Governor while maintaining a clean conscience is not possible.

Jeff Jackson and Dan Bishop are competing to be our Attorney General, and the leader of the N.C. Department of Justice.

Bishop sponsored and championed N.C.’s silly and unnecessary “bathroom bill,” which caused business boycotts that resulted in the loss of more than $3 billion over 12 years before it was repealed.

However, it is the things he has said about Robinson (“I’m with Mark Robinson. More than ever” and “I’m a big fan of Mark Robinson” which cannot allow us to vote for him.

Jeff Jackson is a soldier, attorney, father, and husband. He attended Law School at UNC on the G.I. Bill.

Jackson was a prosecutor in Gaston County, served in Afghanistan with Army Special Operations, is a major in the Army National Guard, served in the North Carolina Senate (and was reelected to a second term), and is currently serving as a Congressman representing N.C.’s 14th District.

Mo Green and Michele Morrow are running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, charged with directly supervising and administering our public school system.

Green credits his mom, who was a special education teacher, for his admiration for educators and the public education system as a whole.

He received his law degree from Duke University and has served as general counsel, chief operating officer, and then deputy superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

He also served as the superintendent of Guilford County Schools, and executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

Morrow received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UNC. She has worked as a nurse, activist, and homeschool teacher. She does not send her children to our public schools.

From their statements, we can deduce that Green would work to increase funding for public schools, and Morrow would try to increase public funding for private schools at the expense of the public school system.

Green has said he knows how important it is to understand our diverse students, and provide them with differentiated resources that meet their needs. Morrow has said she would work to eliminate diversity and equity in our schools.

This is a very important election. These three choices — Josh Stein, Jeff Jackson, and Mo Green — warrant Republicans NOT voting a straight ticket in 2024.

The Lincoln Republicans of Burke County

Tommy Voegeli, President

Jeff Fitzgerald, Vice President

David Howells, Treasurer

Paul Rasmussen, Secretary

Jim Madison, Archivist

Richard Owensby, Membership Chair