RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s latest Democratic governor was sworn into office on Wednesday, as Josh Stein succeeded Roy Cooper in a top elected position for the second time in eight years.

During a small ceremony inside the old Senate chamber of the 1840 Capitol building, Stein took the oath from Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby. His wife, Anna, family and friends and state officials watched, including Cooper.

“Today I stand before you humbled by this responsibility, grateful for this opportunity and ready to get to work for you, the people of North Carolina,” Stein said in a speech.

By defeating GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in November by almost 15 percentage points, Stein continued a run of Democrats leading the executive branch in the nation’s ninth-largest state, even as Republicans have recently dominated the General Assembly and appellate courts. Democrats have won eight of the last nine gubernatorial elections since 1992.

Stein had been attorney general for the past eight years, following Cooper in the elected law-enforcement post.

Cooper was barred by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive gubernatorial term.

Cooper, who delivered opening remarks, said to his successor: “Governor, this will be the best job you have ever had.”

Stein’s powers have already been challenged by Republican lawmakers, who last month overrode a Cooper veto of a wide-ranging measure that erodes the governor’s authority to manage elections, fill appellate court vacancies and pick his own Highway Patrol commander. Cooper and Stein sued recently to block the Highway Patrol and state election board changes.

Stein made no direct references to the legal battles Wednesday. He praised Cooper’s leadership and urged bipartisanship and the rejection of “the politics of division, fear and hate that keep us from finding common ground” to succeed in priorities that he highlighted.

“The time is now to build a safer, stronger North Carolina, where our economy continues to grow and works for more people, where our public schools are excellent and our teachers are well paid, where our neighborhoods are safe and our personal freedoms are protected,” Stein said.

He also said the state must “act with urgency” to help western North Carolina recover from the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in September, particularly with housing, small businesses and infrastructure. Congress last month approved legislation that will bring at least $9 billion more in storm aid to North Carolina.

Stein planned Thursday to announce in Asheville executive orders to support Helene recovery efforts.

Stein, 58, grew up in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, the son of a noted civil rights lawyer. He graduated from Harvard Law School and gained notice as the campaign manager for John Edwards when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998. He also served as a Raleigh-area senator before being elected attorney general for the first time in 2016.

Stein, who is the state’s first Jewish governor, placed his hand for the oath Wednesday on an 1891 edition of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible provided by a woman whose ancestors settled in Charlotte and later in Statesville in the 1850s, according to Stein’s office.

Stein and Cooper then participated in the formal transfer of an historic embossing device that creates the state seal — a symbol of the governor’s authority.

Wednesday’s ceremony of close to 100 people was livestreamed. A larger, outdoor inauguration for Stein and other elected members of the Council of State is set for Jan. 11.

Since the state constitution says their terms begin Jan. 1, many council members took formal oaths Wednesday including new Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt, State Auditor Dave Boliek and Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green.

Raleigh, N.C. – The state’s seasonally adjusted November 2024 unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, unchanged from October’s revised rate. The national rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.2 percent.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate increased 0.1 of a percentage point from a year ago. The number of people employed decreased 1,747 over the month to 5,065,649 and increased 4,027 over the year. The number of people unemployed increased 109 over the month to 197,114 and increased 9,135 over the year.                                                                              

Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased 15,000 to 5,042,000 in November. Major industries experiencing increases were Professional & Business Services, 6,700; Construction, 3,800; Education & Health Services, 3,400; Other Services, 2,600; Leisure & Hospitality Services, 900; Trade, Transportation & Utilities, 400; Government, 300; and Financial Activities, 200. Major industries experiencing decreases were Manufacturing, 3,000; and Information, 300. Mining & Logging employment remained unchanged. 

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rates since November 2023

LAUREN TAYLOR: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men on his final day in office. All fifteen will still serve life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The commutations reduce the state’s death row, which has 121 others on it, by more than ten percent.

Cooper is leaving office after eight years due to term limits. Fellow Democrat Josh Stein, currently the state attorney general, will assume the office on New Year’s Day.

Cooper’s office said they reviewed petitions for clemency from 89 different people on death row before choosing to act on the fifteen cases.

In a press release, Cooper said, “These reviews are among the most difficult decisions a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose. After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the death sentence imposed on these 15 people should be commuted, while ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives in prison.”

It’s a smaller set of commutations than President Joe Biden issued earlier this month for federal death row inmates. The president commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole.

It’s a move that received major criticism from Republicans, with President-elect Donald Trump saying he thought the move made no sense.

Although North Carolina allows the death penalty, the state has not executed anyone since 2006 as lawsuits work their way through the legal system.

Cooper also issued two other commutations for people convicted of crimes that did not come with a death sentence, as well as two pardons for people who have already served their sentences.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.

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