Why I Love North Carolina

I was traveling to the grocery store and I came upon a congregant at a local church, a predominantly Black church. She was waiting outside the grocery store waiting for her husband who was inside buying the week’s groceries. She immediately recognized me and she said, “Governor, I moved out of Charlotte to Durham County but boy did that light rail save me time in the morning on the way to work.” I asked her why she wasn’t going into the grocery store to join her husband. She responds that she forgot her mask and didn’t want to be shamed by people inside the store for not wearing one.

When I moved here as a young boy in the 1960s, the first thing I remember hearing is a new friend from school tell me, “you know, every North Carolinian knows that we were ‘first at Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg, and last at Appomattox.’”

And I was quite confused. So he followed up by telling me that’s why his daddy loves this state. Because here in North Carolina we aren’t scared of nothing and we will push the battle line and show up early to the fight. They can take down our statues and they can rewrite our history but they can never make North Carolina second in the hearts of our state and the nation. And this is why we must make North Carolina first.

Biden is nothing but a Trojan Horse for socialism and the radicals in the party who want to take our country down a path of darkness.

North Carolinians are seeing the price of their milk and food rise exponentially. North Carolinians are seeing the price to fill their tanks rise exponentially! North Carolinians are seeing their children be indoctrinated daily - and - we are seeing crime in North Carolina rise exponentially.

I must go to Washington and I must make North Carolina first and Americans first!

Washington D.C. is telling us how to live. We are tired of Biden’s mask mandate. We are tired of open borders. We are tired of high prices and Biden inflation. We are tired of not working. Under Trump we had jobs. We are tired of North Carolina and the American people not coming first.

I responded to the woman outside the grocery store that we could walk into the store together without our masks. Anything they said to her, they would also have to say to me.

We are a state of firsts!

North Carolina had the first English born child in North America, we are the very first colony, we were first in flight, our proud Tar Heels represent the nation’s first public university! Just like the NASCAR drivers that grace this state, we are not here to come in second! We are here to be first!

And why would anyone want it any other way?

My friends, it’s moments like that where I decide to run for office and put an end to Democratic overreach in Washington. When I see a fellow Tar Heel scared to grocery shop with her husband then I know what I must do.