RALEIGH, N.C. — The two candidates for North Carolina attorney general differ on policies and priorities, but seem to agree about the role of the job.
Democratic U.S. Representative Jeff Jackson argues his top priority would be cracking down on the fentanyl crisis.
"We're losing an average of nine people a day in our state," Jackson said. "It's this big problem."
Republican U.S. Representative Dan Bishop said his first goal would be cracking down on the crime rates in North Carolina's cities by reestablishing stronger relationships between the attorney general's office and law enforcement agencies.
"That's the first and top priority so that we can restore the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in North Carolina and people can feel safe and feel that their families are safe," Bishop said.
The candidates shared a similar view of what role the attorney general should serve; the state's top lawyer, not a legislator who champions a personal political belief. Although, critics of each candidate have questioned their claims of independence.
"The job of attorney general is that you are the people's lawyer, but you are also the lawyer for the state, which means it would be my duty to represent the general assembly or state agencies even if I personally disagreed with them," Jackson said.
And, despite campaign ads claiming Bishop would 'ban' abortion, Bishop said his personal views wouldn't be a consideration in defending the state's new 12-week ban.
"This is extremely important and it's consistent with every answer I've given in this conversation so far. The role of the attorney general is to respect and enforce all law. So that would include the legislature's choice to do that 12 week position," Bishop said.
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