Both of the candidates running in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election for North Carolina Treasurer — Brad Briner (R) and Wesley Harris (D) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
Here are the candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?
Briner:
- “The first key responsibility of the State Treasurer of North Carolina is to steward the State’s AAA credit rating. As a Conservative in every sense of that word, I am ideally positioned to continue protecting the State’s financial position.
- The biggest area of prospective improvement for our State that is under the Treasurer’s control is the investment performance of our pension plans. … I can and will improve performance of the pension plans, which will free up billions for the State Legislature to return to taxpayers or to spend on essential services like education or infrastructure. …
- The State Health Plan represents the largest future cost for the state as a ~$26 billion unfunded liability. … We must use multiple methods to tackle this problem – considering new models to reduce costs, building a larger fund to support future expenditures, and prospectively new revenues to support the plan. Having been involved in many large and complicated negotiations over time, I am the best candidate to tackle this challenging issue.”
Harris:
- “I’m the only candidate in this race with any experience in State Government. It is critical for the Treasurer to have relationships with members on both side of the aisle in the legislature if they want to get things done.
- I have the support and endorsement of the two groups most impacted by the Treasurer’s office: The State Employees Association and the North Carolina Association of Educators. These two groups rely on the Treasurer every single day, and they trust me to be their voice in the office.
- I’m the only candidate in this race who has experience living in rural, suburban, and urban North Carolina. I’m going to go into every corner of our state and fight for the investments needed in order to make sure all 100 of our counties can thrive.”
Click on the candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.
Additional reading: