North Carolina is set to be the location of one of 2024’s most competitive governor’s races, with abortion and LGBTQ+ rights taking center stage.   

Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson won their respective primary elections Tuesday, Decision Desk HQ projects. They will face each other in November to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. If elected, Robinson would also be North Carolina’s first Black governor. 

Cooper has been the most powerful check on the Republican supermajority in the state legislature and has blocked some GOP priorities, which Stein has pledged to continue if elected. 

Robinson, a pastor, has a long history of making anti-LGBTQ+ comments in remarks to his congregation, including referring to LGBTQ+ identities as “filth” and saying that God “formed” him to fight against LGBTQ+ acceptance.

At campaign stops in February, Robinson said that transgender women “will be arrested” if they use a women’s bathroom.

Abortion will also be a top issue in the race after North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a 12-week abortion ban last year.

Democrats are sounding the alarm that Robinson getting elected to the governorship could pave the way for more restrictions.

After years of calling for a total abortion ban and comparing abortion to slavery, Robinson has attempted in recent months to soften his stance on the issue. While he often has avoided using the word “abortion” on the campaign trail, he has also embraced more restrictions. 

At a campaign event in January, Robinson that he would support further restricting abortion in the state to six weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and threat to the life of the mother. 

“We got to do it the same way they rolled it forward. We got to do it the same way with rolling it back,” he said. “We’ve got it down to 12 weeks. The next goal is to get it down to six, and then just keep moving from there.”