Voters casting their ballots today in the race for attorney general will be deciding a close race between Republican candidate and N.C. Sen. Buck Newton and Democratic candidate and former N.C. Sen. Josh Stein.
Experts say this race may be affected by more prominent races at the top of the ballot.
“I think that the top of the ticket always has an impact on down-ballot races,” said Peter Francia, political science professor at East Carolina University.
He described this as a coattail effect, a phenomenon wherein popular candidates may sway voters in their political party’s direction in other ongoing races. Thomas Eamon, political science professor at ECU, agreed.
“If this was an election where the top Democratic candidates won by several percentage points or more, I think that Stein would win," he said. "If this was an election where the top Republican candidates won, I suspect Newton would win.”
In a SurveyUSA poll conducted from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, Stein led Newton 47 percent to 43 percent. In another NC Civitas poll, released two weeks prior on Oct. 16, Newton was leading with 40 percent to 38 percent for Stein.
If Newton wins, he will be the first Republican to hold the position in over a century.
Newton’s top priorities, according to his campaign website, are improving the climate for small businesses with tax relief, saving money on energy with offshore and natural gas drilling and tougher penalties for criminals. Newton did not respond to repeated calls for comment.
Newton did, however, reveal some thoughts on criminal justice in a comment released on Facebook on Oct. 19, which said, “Josh Stein passed the Racial Justice Act; I repealed it because it let cold-blooded murderers escape death row for unrelated statistical data — not the evidence of their crimes.”
