Josh Stein
Introduction '''Joshua Harold Stein''' (born September 13, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 51st Attorney General of North Carolina; he was elected in 2017.A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously was a member of the North Carolina Senate representing District 16, located in Wake County.Stein announced in 2015 that he would run for North Carolina Attorney General in 2016.His former boss, Attorney General Roy Cooper, successfully ran for Governor in 2016.Following his win in the Democratic primary, Stein resigned from his seat in the State Senate to focus on the race for Attorney General. Stein won the general election, defeating Republican Buck Newton. He was the first Jewish person in North Carolina history to win a statewide election. Stein was re-elected in 2020, defeating Republican Jim O'Neill. On January 18, 2023, Stein announced his campaign for Governor of North Carolina in 2024.
Early life and education Josh Stein was born on September 13, 1966, in Washington, D.C. His family then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina before settling in Chapel Hill. He attended Chapel Hill High School and played on its state championship soccer team. Stein's father, Adam Stein, co-founded North Carolina's first integrated law firm. Stein graduated from Chapel Hill High School and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College in 1988.After college, he taught English and economics in Zimbabwe. Stein then went on to earn degrees from Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.
Early career In the 1990s, Stein interned for State Representative Dan Blue. Out of law school, Stein worked for the Self-Help Credit Union and the North Carolina Minority Support Center. In 1998, he managed the U.S. Senate campaign of John Edwards, which was successful. He then served as Edwards' deputy chief of staff from 1999 to 2000.In 2001, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper appointed Stein as Senior Deputy Attorney General for Consumer Protection. He held that position until his election to the state senate in 2008.From 2012 until 2016, he served as Of Counsel at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, a regional law firm.Stein defeated Republican John Alexander to represent the 16th district in the North Carolina Senate in 2008.After being re-elected in 2010, he was elected minority whip by his colleagues.In the Senate, Stein worked to expand the state's DNA database, ban cyberstalking, extend and expand the state's renewable energy tax credit, and improve school safety.
North Carolina Attorney General As Attorney General, Stein has sought and received additional funding to test North Carolina's backlog of untested sexual assault kits. This has led to new arrests in cases involving a 2015 assault and attempted murder in Durham, North Carolina; assaults in 2009 and 2010 in Fayetteville; and a 1993 assault in Winston-Salem.Stein is among the four state attorneys general negotiating a national settlement framework with drug companies over the nation's opioid epidemic. He helped finalize a settlement with the opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt in which the company agreed to pay $1.6 billion for its role in the epidemic.In 2018, Stein filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court arguing in favor of the Affordable Care Act. In 2019, Stein became the first attorney general in the country to sue e-cigarette manufacturer Juul for unlawful marketing to minors.Stein negotiated eight Anti-Robocall Principles with a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 companies to protect phone users from illegal robocalls. He also launched Operation Silver Shield, an effort to protect older North Carolinians from fraud and scams.Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stein won a preliminary injunction against a Charlotte tow company sued for price-gouging, and announced the investigation of nine North Carolina-based sellers on Amazon who are accused of raising prices on coronavirus-related products, including hand sanitizer and N-95 masks.The Legislature voted to remove Stein as their legal representation before the courts on August 21, 2021, after he refused to appeal the findings of a lower court that a North Carolina state law that disenfranchised anyone convicted of a felony was unconstitutional. Stein cited he had been waiting for the ruling to be formally filed. Legislative leaders alleged Stein was "slow-walking" the case in order to allow felons to vote in the next election and used these claims to justify his immediate removal.
2024 gubernatorial campaign On January 18, 2023, Stein formally announced his candidacy for the office of governor of North Carolina in the 2024 election.
Personal life Stein is married to Anna Harris Stein and has three children; Sam, Adam, and Leah. He is a former YMCA basketball and J.C.C. soccer coach. He is Jewish and identifies his faith denomination as Reform Judaism.
Electoral history
See also * List of Jewish American jurists
References
Further reading *  Raleigh ''News & Observer'' profile (archived)*  NC General Assembly page (archived)
External links *  North Carolina Department of Justice*  Campaign website* *