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State Relations

A summary of news from Raleigh that affects Duke University,

Duke Health and Duke LifePoint Healthcare.

March 8, 2024

In this issue...

2024 Primary Election Results
Rep. von Haefen and Sen. Murdock Speak at Duke Women's Center Reproductive Justice Conference
JLOC on Medicaid and HHS Meet Next Week
Duke Health Advocacy Network Office Hours on 3/26
Duke State Relations Resources

2024 Primary Election Results

North Carolina voters selected candidates on Tuesday for races at the local, state, and federal levels of government. Out of more than 7.46 million registered voters in North Carolina, around 24% cast their ballots in the Primary Election which included races for all 170 seats in the NC General Assembly, 14 congressional seats, various judicial positions, local government positions, one NC Supreme Court seat, and Council of State positions including Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, and others. Complete results from the Primary Election can be found on the State Board of Elections' dashboard.

NC Executive Branch Highlights

In the race for Governor, current Lt Gov. Mark Robinson (R) will face off against Attorney General Josh Stein (D) this November while Congressmen Dan Bishop (R) and Jeff Jackson (D) will be the candidates for Attorney General. NC House Rep. Wesley Harris (D) will take on political newcomer Brad Briner (R) for the State Treasurer's race. In the election for Lt. Gov., NC House Rep. Rachel Hunt (D) will run against either Hal Weatherman (R) or Jim O'Neill (R) who are headed for a runoff election after neither received the required 30% of the primary vote.

NC General Assembly

In Durham County, Sen. Mike Woodard (D - Incumbent) lost the primary election to Sophia Chitlik. Senator Woodard has served for 12 years in the NC Senate. All other members of the Durham Delegation were uncontested in the primary election and are poised to win re-election in November. In Wake County, 17 of the 19 members of the current legislative delegation filed to run again in their current seat or in a new district. All incumbent members of the Wake delegation were either unopposed or won their primary election and most are likely to be re-elected in November. All members of the current Duke LifePoint delegation filed to run for re-election and ran unopposed in the primary, with the exception of Senate District 45 in Catawba County due to the retirement of Sen. Dean Proctor.

NC Judicial Races

NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs (D - Incumbent) defeated Superior Court Judge Lora Cubbage for the open NC Supreme Court Seat. Riggs was appointed in 2023 when former Justice Michael Morgan resigned to run for Governor. Riggs will face Superior Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin (R) in November. Incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Hunter Murphy (R) lost the primary election to District Court Judge Chris Freeman (R). Freeman will face Martin Moore (D) in the November election for the Court of Appeals seat.

Federal Races

At the top of the ticket, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face a rematch in November for the presidential race. For more information on NC's congressional races, sign up to receive updates from Duke Government Relations and Duke Health Government Relations.

Rep. von Haefen and Sen. Murdock Speak at Duke Women's Center Reproductive Justice Conference

Rep. Julie von Haefen and Sen. Natalie Murdock served as panelists at the Duke Women's Center 2024 Reproductive Justice Conference this week. The conference focused on black maternal health issues and the legislators joined other leaders in the community to discuss the impact of local and state activism. Rep. von Haefen and Sen. Murdock spoke about their work as the primary sponsors of the 2023 Momnibus Act which aims to improve maternal mortality rates and access to maternal health care for minority populations.

JLOC on HHS and Medicaid Meet Next Week

On March 12 the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services will meet at 9am and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid will meet at 1pm. The meetings will be live-streamed on the NC General Assembly's website. Prior to the start of short session in April the committees are expected to discuss issues related to Medicaid, behavioral health, child welfare, and more.

Duke Health Advocacy Network Office Hours on 3/26

Members of the Duke Health Advocacy Network are invited to attend our next virtual office hours event via the Duke Health Advocacy Network Microsoft Teams channel on Tuesday, March 26th from 12pm-1pm. Hosted by Duke Health Government Relations and Duke State Relations, office hours are informal conversations about current issues at the state and federal level. Check the Teams channel to register and learn more.

Duke State Relations Resources

Duke State Relations provides many resources on our website, including our 2023 End of Session Report, Duke in North Carolina Annual Report on Impact and Engagement, a list of bills we monitor, and general information about the North Carolina General Assembly. Duke Health team members may also join the Duke Health Advocacy Network for additional opportunities to connect with fellow advocates and professionals interested in public policy across the health system.

As a reminder, please contact Duke State Relations before extending invitations for elected or appointed state officials to attend events at Duke. As a registered lobbyist principal in North Carolina, Duke is required to follow a series of state lobbying and ethics laws and is prohibited from providing anything of value to designated individuals, with certain exceptions in place. To assist with invitation requests and determining allowable expenses for state officials, Duke State Relations created a form to capture this information. Please reach out if you have additional questions.