By David N. Bass
Carolina Journal
In one of the most closely watched statewide races of the night in North Carolina, Democrat Mo Green has emerged victorious over Republican Michele Morrow in the race for NC’s state superintendent of public instruction, according to unofficial results from the NC State Board of Election.
With all precincts reporting and Green leading by approximately 119,500 votes, the Associated Press has called the race in favor of Green. Green secured around 2.8 million votes compared to Morrow’s 2.7 million votes. The threshold for a recount is 10,000 votes.
Morrow released a statement this morning:
Nearly half of North Carolina voters have made their voices heard, and they called loudly for change in our public schools. I intend to honor the millions of concerned North Carolinians who supported my race by continuing to fight for our children.
The election for superintendent may be over, but the need for safe schools and education excellence remains. Our new superintendent made it very clear throughout his campaign that he has no intention of changing anything. His mantra was “celebrate” the current system as it is.
I will celebrate when our children are safe and common sense discipline and hope are restored for all our students. Until that happens, I will stand with the parents, teachers and nearly three million voters who recognize the desperate need for a better system – one that serves the students, not the bureaucrats.
To all my supporters, volunteers and staff, thank you for your hard work and dedication to our cause. We nearly overcame incredible odds. Between Mo Green’s campaign funding and the support of his special interest groups, we were outspent nearly three hundred to one.
The closeness of this race is a testament to grass roots campaigning. And grass roots support like we have is not a campaign product, but rather the symptom of a movement – a movement that carries the cause far beyond the counting of votes. A movement like we have created together cannot be stopped by politics. It cannot be stopped by oppositional media. It cannot be stopped by smear messaging here today and gone tomorrow. A movement like ours can only be stopped by satisfying the need that created it.
I said before that if we don’t win on November 5th, we will have to fight harder on November 6th. And that is exactly what I will do.
I will fight harder than ever before to protect our children and save our schools from a system that is failing them.
Many may say that we lost this fight. But I say this fight has just begun.
This was never about winning a political office. This was always about the children. And so it will remain.
Green, who previously served as the superintendent of Guilford County Schools and as head of the left-wing philanthropy Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, campaigned on a platform of expanding public school funding while eliminating school choice initiatives like the Opportunity Scholarship.
Michele Morrow, a political newcomer and homeschool advocate, entered the political arena with little experience in education policy. Despite her outsider status and controversial social media presence, she managed to upset incumbent Catherine Truitt in the Republican primary. Morrow’s campaign focused on traditional education values, such as school safety and opposition to critical race theory, and was marked by her outspoken views on national politics and education reform.
Throughout the campaign, both candidates faced scrutiny and challenges. Green addressed accusations from Morrow about his tenure in Guilford County and his work at the Reynolds Foundation. Meanwhile, Morrow contended with backlash over her attendance at the January 6 protests and views expressed online.
The last Carolina Journal poll of likely voters put Green up 2.5 percentage points over Morrow.
David Bass is a senior contributor to the Carolina Journal.
