Two strategies for expanding ‘Democratic brand’ on display in race for NC attorney general

When he announced his campaign for attorney general in October, it didn’t take long for much of the Democratic Party establishment to rally around Jeff Jackson.

The first-term congressman had only been serving in the U.S. House for 10 months, but in that brief amount of time, Jackson emerged as one of the most visible new members of Congress. On nearly every platform out there, Jackson amassed a significant social media following. And he developed a national profile for his outreach to constituents, and the strong response it was eliciting.

Endorsements from several prominent Democrats — including every Democratic member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation and many members of the state House and Senate — started to roll in.

Jackson quickly raised a lot of money as well, ending last year with a sizable advantage over the opponent he’ll face in November if he wins the primary, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, the outspoken member of the House Freedom Caucus who quickly secured the backing of GOP leaders after announcing his campaign in August.

But Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry, Jackson’s main opponent in the Democratic primary, has predicated her campaign on the idea that fundraising and social media prowess doesn’t necessarily translate into support from voters, and that grassroots support can overcome those advantages.

Jackson’s savvy use of social media has helped enhance his name recognition and reach across the state, but he says the response also shows that voters want more straightforward, direct communication from politicians.

“I agree that trust in our political leadership probably has never been lower,” Jackson told The News & Observer. “My sense is that you can’t respond to that by telling people that they’re wrong, you have to respond with a higher level of transparency. It can be as simple as saying, ‘here’s what I did today, here’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.’”

“To a whole lot of people, nothing I say will matter until I can address their lack of trust, so I better address that first,” he said. “And the way I believe in doing that is by reaching people directly. Not many people want to hear from a political party, they want to hear from a person. So, my thinking is to be a person who speaks directly to them with respect. And over time, you’ll earn that respect back.”

Jackson’s main opponent, Satana Deberry, says ‘system is rigged’

Deberry, who won a second term as Durham district attorney in 2022, isn’t fazed by Jackson’s considerable edge in fundraising or name recognition.

First elected in 2018, Deberry previously worked as general counsel for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, and served as executive director of the N.C. Housing Coalition, a nonprofit. Deberry says her wide-ranging experience as an attorney, and most recently as a prosecutor, makes her the “most qualified candidate on either side of the aisle.”

Over the course of her career, Deberry says, she’s also demonstrated the “political courage” she says the next attorney general will need, with Republicans potentially maintaining or expanding supermajorities in the General Assembly.

“The proposition was never that I was going to raise as much money as a sitting congressman in a primary,” Deberry said in an interview. “This system is rigged, and it is certainly rigged towards people who have been running all their lives. I don’t have a victory fund; I don’t have any of that.”

Deberry says what she does have is everything she needs: an “outstanding education and an unbelievable career, and a great story.” And the “actual ability” and “experience” to help North Carolinians.

Another candidate, attorney and Marine Corps veteran Tim Dunn of Fayetteville, launched his campaign in April. Dunn, who primarily represents juveniles and members of the military community, has run unsuccessfully for Congress twice.

Jackson, Deberry, and Dunn mention some of the same things when asked what issues are most important to the voters they meet on the campaign trail.

One of those issues is how common scams, robocalls, and fraud have become. Many people also bring up the high cost of health care, Deberry says, and especially in rural parts of the state, fears about hospitals closing, or the drive to go and see a doctor or a specialist becoming longer and longer.

Other top issues Jackson mentions are “the number of horror stories” he’s heard about drug overdoses, particularly those involving fentanyl and methamphetamine, and concerns about gerrymandering in the redistricting process.

With GOP lawmakers enacting a stricter abortion law in May barring the procedure after 12 weeks, abortion rights remain a key issue for Democrats as well. Deberry has emphasized protecting access to abortion would be a top priority for her.

One of the top abortion rights advocacy groups in the state, however, has endorsed Jackson. In announcing its slate of endorsements on Wednesday, Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic said it was backing “proven leaders who we are confident will protect the fundamental freedoms of North Carolinians while in office.”

“We endorsed Congressman Jeff Jackson based on his voting record and prior leadership to protect reproductive freedom,” the group’s executive director, Alison Kiser, told The N&O. “The attorney general is our last line of defense when it comes to protecting abortion access in North Carolina, and we need a strong champion to win this election and defend our rights.”

Jackson has been endorsed by other major organizations as well, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the N.C. AFL-CIO, and the N.C. Association of Educators.

In addition to the six other Democrats currently in Congress, Jackson also has endorsements from more than half of the sitting Democrats in the state Senate, and more than a dozen House Democrats, including House Minority Leader Robert Reives.

Deberry has received endorsements from, among others, state Sen. Graig Meyer, state Rep. Kelly Alexander, former Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils, the N.C. Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus, the Young Democrats of North Carolina, Lillian’s List — another major abortion rights group in the state — and two highly influential political groups in Durham, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People and the People’s Alliance PAC.

Deberry and Jackson make their case for who can win

Meyer, who has known Deberry for nearly 20 years and is one of her strongest supporters, says the difference between Jackson and Deberry is that he is “an amazing political communicator” and has a “well established political machine,” but she is “an amazing attorney,” and has a “career’s worth of experience” as one.

When it comes to serving as the state’s top law enforcement official, Meyer said in an interview, it’s more important to have a bold vision and experience that is extensive, rather than fit an idea some people may have for who is “electable.”

“Jeff is a great communicator from the middle, but he doesn’t take strong stances on our core issues, and he doesn’t have deep relationships with many of our core constituencies,” Meyer told The N&O. “And the last year that he’s been in Congress, where he’s had phenomenal success with his videos and messaging, I don’t think he’s ever said he’s a Democrat once. And if you’re running away from our brand, you’re damaging our brand.”

“We need leaders to help us convince people to vote for Democrats, because we’re in a world where people are highly polarized, and the Democratic brand is more important than who you are as an individual candidate,” Meyer said.

Deberry has also argued that as a Black, queer woman who grew up in small-town North Carolina, and has had electoral success in Durham, she’ll be able to engage more African Americans, more women, more young people, more LGBTQ+ people, and more infrequent voters.

And if Democrats seek higher turnout among those constituencies, they’ll have to give them something to vote for, “not just against,” Deberry said.

“They’re not going to vote for Trump, but they might not come at all,” Deberry said of African American voters she’s spoken to while campaigning. “And a top of the ballot that is Joe Biden, Josh Stein, and Jeff Jackson is not appealing to them. That’s three white guys in a blue shirt.”

Meyer points to the success Democrats had in Pennsylvania in 2022 as a model for what could work well in North Carolina. Josh Shapiro, who won the governor’s race, was more of a centrist, Meyer said, while John Fetterman, who won the U.S. Senate race, “was running as a progressive, although he claims not to now, but at the very least, he was running in a bold way.”

That showed voters that “Democrats aren’t as narrow as what Republicans say they are, Democrats are actually a bunch of interesting things,” Meyer said.

Jackson pushed back on the notion that his campaign wouldn’t energize the same constituencies Deberry said she would connect with better, citing his endorsements as evidence of the “diverse coalition” supporting his campaign.

“I think it would be a major risk nominating someone who’s never beaten a Republican,” Jackson said. “Dan Bishop will be the most well-funded Republican candidate for attorney general in the history of our state. I’m the only one in this primary who has the experience of winning tough races. I think that we’ve got broader support in this primary, I think we’re in a stronger position to compete, win, and lead the way people deserve.”

Jackson also said that in addition to making himself accessible as a candidate through TikToks and Substack newsletters, voters have gotten to know him through the regular events and town halls he’s made a priority in the past, and is continuing to do in this campaign, where “anyone could come and ask any question” they have.

In 2021, while running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Richard Burr, Jackson held 100 town halls in each county in the state in 100 days.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the people who criticize me for being transparent and keeping my constituents posted through social media, are the ones who are running against me,” Jackson said. “I think they realize that the vast majority of our constituents appreciate direct communication, and they probably wish they had that reach.”

Strategies for the last few weeks of the campaign

Early voting began on Thursday, which leaves the candidates with just 20 days until the March 5 primary to connect with voters and get their message out.

Deberry said her strategy in the final month of the campaign was to continue running a “real grassroots campaign” and hold more meet and greets and similar events across the state. Her goal is to hit all of the counties Stein won in 2020, and make further inroads with voters in eastern and southeastern North Carolina.

In particular, Deberry is targeting Democrats in those parts of the state who might not have much to vote for on their primary ballots, and probably don’t get visits from statewide candidates too often.

Jackson said part of his strategy is to continue elevating the issues that are affecting voters right now, and will face the next attorney general, like the fentanyl crisis, organized crime, and scammers using more sophisticated technologies to swindle people.

“People can go their whole lives and never really stop and think about how the person serving as attorney general can impact them,” Jackson said. “So, an effective campaign has to be about educating people about the importance of that position.”

Candidate for NC attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson, answers our questions

Candidate for NC attorney general, Democrat Satana Deberry, answers our questions

Candidate for NC attorney general, Democrat Tim Dunn, answers our questions