Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th) won Tuesday's Democratic primary for the state's attorney general position over former Durham district attorney Satana Deberry and attorney Tim Dunn. Jackson won just under 55 percent of the statewide vote.
Jackson — who has made his name partially through videos on Instagram and TikTok explaining his time in Congress — was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination since his candidacy announcement in October. He was drawn out of his congressional seat during the state legislature's 2023 redistricting cycle and chose to enter the race for attorney general to "use that job to go after political corruption," including the state legislative Republicans who drew him out of his district.
Before his time in Congress, Jackson was elected to the state senate in 2014 — becoming the second-youngest in the body. Jackson then lost a 2022 U.S. Senate Democratic primary to the Democratic nominee, Cheri Beasley. Beasley lost the general election to now-Sen. Ted Budd.
Deberry, who gained endorsements from the North Carolina Young Democrats and N.C. Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Caswell, Orange, Person), earned more than 32 percent of the statewide vote. She won Durham County, her home county, by 20 points.
Jackson will face Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C. 8th) in the November general election. Bishop was a primary sponsor of North Carolina's House Bill 2 — which banned people from using bathrooms that did not align with their sex assigned at birth — has been a staunch ally of former president Donald Trump since he was elected to Congress in 2018.
