A year after North Carolina’s new political districts were approved, incumbent Sen. Natalie Murdock and retired software writer Alvin Reed will compete in Chatham’s race for state senator.
Murdock, representing District 20, is the first Black woman under the age of 40 in the N.C. Senate. The Democrat originally from Greensboro currently serves as the chief strategist and owner of Murdock Anderson Consulting.
In April 2020, she replaced Sen. H.M. Michaux after his resignation; Gov. Roy Cooper appointed her to the role. Now seeking election to the seat, Murdock’s campaign goals include fighting for full access to safe and legal abortions, birth control and reproductive rights, and advocating for environmental justice issues, ensuring that “diverse voices are heard and centered.”
Reed, the Republican candidate, grew up in Kansas and has lived in Chatham County since 1991. He previously unsuccessfully ran for the N.C. House District 54 seat, losing against longtime Rep. Joe Hackney in 2006.
Reed is seeking office “to change the laws of North Carolina for a better society,” hoping to further the conservative majority in the state senate. Among his goals are increasing access to school vouchers and reducing crime in North Carolina, specifically with regard to fentanyl use.
Each candidate provided responses to two sets of questionnaires provided by the News + Record.
Reed, the author of a book called “The Theory of Biblical Patterns: One Hundred Patterns That Prove That God Wrote Genesis 1:1,” said his legislative platform aims to encourage “everyone to follow biblical principles.”
He said he wants to strengthen religious liberty and bring discipline to schools, expressing failings in North Carolina’s public schools. In an interview with the News + Record, Reed said he believes the country needs to have a capitalist education system.
Reed also said he believes education is “the catalyst for future economic growth for North Carolina,” and vowed, if elected, to advocate for school vouchers for all parents in the state.
“Competition always improves things and more competition in school systems would improve our educational system,” Reed said.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program provides private school vouchers to eligible students in N.C., and states it is intended to help families who make a certain amount of household income pay for tuition and fees at participating institutions. The program is not without controversy; since the program was enacted in 2013, guidelines have changed as legislators widened income eligibility and more affluent families have gained access to vouchers, N.C. Policy Watch reported in July. Proponents say school choice should not be a privilege, while critics have called into question a lack of oversight in private schools with accreditation and curriculum and say state resources should be allocated to public education.
In his responses to the CN+R questionnaire, Reed said he aims to establish a 10% increase in the economy over two years and to reduce crime in the state by 10% in the same amount of time. When asked to elaborate on his specific approaches to both issues, Reed offered examples, saying he would support lower tax rates and the use of more undercover police officers, respectively.
Reed does not support expanding Medicaid, and said he feels the in-need population is adequately cared for by the current system. When asked about his stance on current laws and access to abortion in N.C., Reed cited his religious beliefs as a Christian and said he would “fight for the life of the unborn.”
In contrast, Murdock said she supports Medicaid expansion and that doing so at the state level would work to keep premiums low and provide care to more individuals.
“The average North Carolinian is a medical emergency away from bankruptcy,” she said. “Our broken system rewards those who have great health care plans from their employer or who make enough money to pay high healthcare costs while punishing those with low wages who have no health care coverage and cannot afford to be sick without pay. Addressing rising health care and prescription costs is critical to addressing poverty and low wealth.”
When it comes to abortion access, Murdock said she believes full access to reproductive health care is a basic human right.
“All women and birthing people should have the resources they need to make sound and safe reproductive health care issues,” she said. “Birth control should be covered by insurance and be free. I believe that a woman has a right to choose what she wants to do with her body and will continue to protect a woman’s right to choose.”
In an interview, Murdock also spoke about her advocacy for reform within the justice system, highlighting her previous experience working as deputy communications director for the N.C. Dept. of Justice and Attorney General Josh Stein. Specifically, she noted a desire to see a modernization of the court system and the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis.
Last week, President Joe Biden pardoned all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, and urged state governors to pardon offenses on a state level as well. In a statement, Gov. Roy Cooper encouraged state lawmakers to act on decriminalizing possession of marijuana, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
The Compassionate Care Act, a bill that would legalize the use of medical marijuana for individuals with qualifying medical conditions, passed in N.C. Senate in July but has stalled in the House. Murdock called the legalization of medical marijuana “an equity and criminal justice issue.”
“We’re still working to see if there are some decriminalization aspects of it, particularly if it’s less than two ounces,” she said. “Because just with the failed War on Drugs, we just have far too many people that look like me that are doing very serious time for nonviolent offenses.”
Reed, citing his faith, said he could not recommend the legalization of a controlled substance.
Both candidates expressed that economic growth is continuing to expand in the county, particularly as major industrial developments like Vinfast and Wolfspeed break ground.
In considering subsequent challenges, Murdock said it’s important to tackle issues like property insurance rates, zoning and home prices to ensure that Chatham residents can both become and remain homeowners. Besides increasing the quantity and quality of affordable housing, she said it’s crucial to support low-income renters.
“Wages in combination with housing is really something we must get a handle on,” she said. “Workers should be able to choose to live near where they work without paying most of their income to rent or a mortgage.”
Reed said he believes the best solution for affordable housing is “an extremely strong economy so that everyone has an excellent paying job and can afford adequate housing.”
“I have no problem with offering some form of minimal housing for those with no housing at all during bad weather,” he said.
Murdock also spoke about environmental issues, such as water contamination in the county, and how natural resources might be impacted by the growth. Murdock served as Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor from 2018 to 2020.
“I have a number of family members that really rely on the Haw River for their water,” she said. “So (I’m) just very concerned that we just cannot get a handle on making sure folks have the high quality water that they deserve to have.”
Reed highlighted infrastructure challenges that may come with economic expansion in Chatham. He said, especially in the northeastern part of Chatham where he lives, the county will have to build more roads to accommodate new homes and traffic.
“Obviously, as a Republican I don’t want to spend more money, but we definitely got to spend more money on roads because these people got to get to work,” Reed said.
In considering what makes him the best candidate to represent the county, Reed emphasized his political ideologies.
“I recognize the importance of conservative values in our government,” he said.
In response to a question in the CN+R questionnaire about the 2020 presidential election, Reed said he does not believe the election produced fair and legitimate results, and referenced a website he created that he claims proves former President Donald Trump won from rejected mail-in ballots. This claim of election fraud, as well as the certification of the 2020 presidential election, has been proven false and has failed in dozens of court challenges, before and after the results were certified.
Murdock said she considers herself a “proud, pragmatic progressive Democrat” who aims to serve all people in the state.
“My political philosophy is one that is founded on strong guiding principles of equality, justice, and community,” she said. “These are manifested in my unwavering commitment to fighting for a progressive movement of economic justice, racial equity, women’s rights, and freedom for the LGBTQIA+ community, just to name a few of the many areas in this struggle.”
Murdock highlighted her background serving rural and urban communities and collaborating with individuals who have differing political ideologies.
“I am a renter that founded her own businesses from the ground up, so I will legislate from my lived experience and can relate to those that I serve,” she said.
To read more about the candidates’ platforms and view their full responses to candidate questionnaires visit chathamnewsrecord.com/elections. The general midterm elections will be on Nov. 8. Early voting runs from Oct. 20 through Nov. 5. To find your polling location, visit vt.ncsbe.gov/PPLkup/.
Reporter Maydha Devarajan can be reached at mdevarajan@chathamnr.com and on Twitter @maydhadevarajan.