The paradox of Josh Stein
Bipartisan in tone, progressive at heart — here's a look at the balancing act of North Carolina's governor
I spent way too much time this week thinking about our state’s governor. It was hard not to — the guy was all over the place giving interviews.
Pretty much all of them touched on FEMA. I wrote a column for the N&O and Charlotte Observer about how Gov. Josh Stein has become a leading spokesman for the effort to forestall its demise. He’s essentially making a conservative case for keeping FEMA, arguing that it saves money and prevents administrative bloat.
You can read the column here: Gov. Stein is making the conservative case for FEMA
But just minutes after I filed the piece, I saw this message on the governor’s official X feed. It gave a very different reason for why he wants to keep FEMA: “Storms are worsening.”
That little nugget of climate activism is certainly not what Stein is saying in interviews (and it’s not true, either). But it’s what the progressive base expects to hear.
That’s the paradox. We all feel in our gut that Stein is the most liberal governor North Carolina has ever elected. But that is decidedly not how he’s governed so far.
I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but Stein’s style has been a complete 180 from his processor, Roy Cooper. Instead of bashing Republicans constantly, Stein tries to find common ground. It’s been pretty refreshing, honestly.
But if you’re looking for it, the signs of a much different philosophy are there. “You need both a public and private position,” Hillary Clinton once memorably told a group of investors. It’s hard not to think that Stein is doing just that.
His new cannabis push is a good example. He’s right to call out the Wild West of unregulated THC products flooding convenience stores and being sold to kids. They’re a blight on our cities. But in the same breath, he’s talking about full legalization of recreational marijuana.
So what do we make of this? Do we just appreciate the change in tone? Or do we put on the conspiratorial hat and wonder if he’s biding his time to roll out a full liberal agenda?
The real test will come in 2026. A steady, reasonable Stein could help Democrats compete in close legislative races. But it’s hard to stay in that lane when the base is always pushing for DEFCON 1.
My gut says he’ll try. But paradoxes have a tendency to try to resolve themselves.
Quick hits
I had two other columns publish over the past week. The first looked at former Gov. Pat McCrory and his post-governorship life. I argue that he deserves better, especially from the Republican Party.
The second is a little more niche in topic. Two high-profile principals in Charlotte got suspended without any notice to parents. I think the General Assembly should update public records law to require disclosure of the reason for suspensions.
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Is it possible that instead of this OR that, it can be both/and? We can hold two or more viewpoints at the same time. It will serve all of us better if we can live in a state of both/and.
Your position that climate change is not worsening storms is abjectly false, cherry picking one Nature article referring only to frequency. That lie on your part undermines any other credibility you might have as a journalist. There is clear consensus that climate change is making storms more destructive, causing droughts and has already increased global temperatures. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/07/how-climate-change-is-making-hurricanes-more-dangerous/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163751
That you would choose to ignore facts belies your bias and willing ignorance of facts.