Two from Cumberland County are running for top North Carolina offices in 2024

Tim Dunn of Fayetteville is running for North Carolina attorney general and former Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey is running for lieutenant governor in 2024.

If Dunn and Rey win, they'll join Republican North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson of Fayetteville — reelected in 2022 — as statewide elected officials with Cumberland County roots.

Meanwhile, Democratic former state Sen. Ben Clark of Hoke County, who grew up in Fayetteville and represented Hoke and Cumberland counties, said he, too, is considering a run for lieutenant governor. “Leaning that way. Still looking at it,” Clark said Monday evening.

Lawyer, Marine vet runs for attorney general

Tim Dunn, a Democrat, grew up in Fayetteville and has a law practice. He announced his candidacy for attorney general on April 19 at the North Carolina Veterans Park in downtown Fayetteville. The seat is held by Democrat Josh Stein, who is running for governor, making this an open seat.

In the Democratic primary for attorney general, Dunn has no declared opponents as of Monday, according to a candidates list being maintained by political scientist Michael Bitzer of Catawba College.

“From my work as a military prosecutor helping lead the special tribunal against Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity to my work here in North Carolina representing at-risk youth and the veteran and military community, I am ready for my next mission,” Dunn said in his campaign announcement.

In addition to practicing law, Dunn has had a 33-year career in the Marines, with a mix of active duty and reserve service, and retired as a colonel.

As of Tuesday, Republican Tom Murry of Cary also is in the attorney general race. He is an Army veteran and a former member of the state House.

Army, National Guard vet, former mayor running for lieutenant governor

Democrat Chris Rey of Charlotte filed paperwork in December for lieutenant governor. Rey was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, grew up in Spring Lake and served as mayor from 2011 to 2017.

Rey is running because “I'm just disappointed in the — just the back-and-forth, the partisanship,” he said in December. “And I’m just hoping that I can just be a unifying candidate” as a problem-solver for Republicans, Democrats and independent voters.

The seat is open as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican, is running for governor in 2024.

Rey has a combined 22 years of service with the Army and the National Guard and retired as a major.

Other announced Democratic candidates include: civil rights activist Delmonte Crawford of Raleigh; state Sen. Rachel Hunt of Charlotte (whose father Jim Hunt served four terms as governor), and former state Rep. Raymond E. Smith Jr. of Goldsboro.

Announced Republican candidates include:

• Hal Weatherman, who used to be the chief of staff of former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest

• Former Greensboro City Councilman Jim Kee

• Allen Mashburn, who has the Gospel Dynamite with J. Allen Mashburn podcast.

• Peter Boykin of Mebane, known for being the president of the Gays for Trump organization during Trump’s 2016 campaign. Robinson in 2021 described homosexuality as “filth.”

Read all about it: NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson stands by LGBTQ+ 'filth' comments amid calls for resignation

Senior North Carolina reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Two Democrats from Cumberland County seeking statewide office in 2024