What Josh Stein's first words as governor tell us

He's not a carbon copy of his predecessor. Based on his opening remarks, Stein will likely govern more like Gavin Newsom than Josh Shapiro

North Carolina officially has a new governor. Some commenters on the right have called Gov. Josh Stein a carbon copy of his predecessor — but I don’t think that’s true at all. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your perspective.

How do we know? Just by taking a look at his first words as governor. After thanking dignitaries, family and staff in attendance at his swearing-in ceremony, Stein rolled out the short version of his mission statement:

“The time is now to build a safer, stronger North Carolina, where our economy continues to grow and works for more people, where our public schools are excellent and our teachers are well-paid, where our neighborhoods are safe and our personal freedoms are protected. And of course, we must act with urgency to help the people of western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene.”

Stein’s formal inauguration will be held next weekend, where he’ll give a longer speech that more clearly articulates his priorities as he takes office.

But this short statement is not just political cliche; it gives us some real clues as to how he’ll govern. Here are a few things we can learn.