CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Queen City News) — A political ad criticizing the performance of a Democratic candidate in the North Carolina gubernatorial race has sparked controversy, with claims it lacks important context.
The ad, titled “Women Deserve Better,” is from State Solutions, a group that says it’s affiliated with the Republican Governors Association on its Facebook page. In the ad, Amanda, a nurse from Chatham County, talks about Josh Stein’s background.
“Attorney General Josh Stein has spent years Addressing rape kit delays“He released violent criminals early from prison,” she states in the ad. “Now Stein is bragging about his work on rape kits? How dare he! Under Stein’s watch, rapes in North Carolina increased 53 percent.”
The ad is notable for its tone. Against Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson.
“This is a light spat before it gets serious,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University. “If this makes you feel bad, I’m going to avoid TV for the next five months because it’s not going to get any better.”
Queen City News showed the ad to Cooper and fellow political science professor Dr. Susan Roberts of Davidson College.
Both pointed out that the ad lacked context.
“When you look behind some of the facts, that takes time. It’s not the people who see the ads who do that, it’s the journalists,” Roberts said.
The claim that it took Attorney General Josh Stein years to address the rape kit backlog is lacking in substance: The backlog dates back to around 2000, and the state led the nation for untested rape kits for years.
Stein made it a top priority when she became North Carolina attorney general in 2017. There was a bipartisan effort in 2019 to address the backlog, which is part of a larger national problem caused by a variety of factors, including how law enforcement prioritizes sexual assaults and a lack of training and resources.
Stein announced earlier this year that the backlog had been cleared.
The claim that “(Stein) released violent criminals early from prison” is likely a reference to the settlement reached between the state of North Carolina and civil rights groups in 2021 that allowed for the early release of 3,500 prisoners. The reasons for the releases were primarily related to issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and curbing the spread of infection within prisons.
Those released were primarily non-violent offenders, but also included some violent offenders, and many of those released were on supervised release.
The claim that “rape cases in North Carolina increased 53 percent during Governor Stein’s term” requires further clarification.
Statewide rape cases have increased since 2013, part of a national trend, according to figures from the State Bureau of Investigation. (Stein wasn’t elected attorney general until 2016.)
The legal definition of rape was expanded in 2013. Over the past few years, more victims have begun to come forward and report crimes to the police, helping to reduce the stigma that has long surrounded sexual assault.
While the number of reported rape cases has increased since 2013, crimes of all kinds overall have fallen by about 23% over the same period, a trend that has continued since Stein took office, according to SBI data.
Cooper noted that the ad may be aimed at its target demographic of women.
“Josh Stein’s first ad was about women’s reproductive rights and the horrible things Mark Robinson has said about women,” Cooper said.
In a statement about the ad, a spokesperson for Stein’s campaign said, “Women across North Carolina deserve justice, which is why addressing the rape kit backlog was one of Attorney General Josh Stein’s top priorities when he took office in 2017. Meanwhile, Mark Robinson has done nothing to protect women from violence, instead repeatedly mocking victims of sexual assault and defending rapists like Harvey Weinstein.”
Queen City News has reached out to Robinson’s campaign for comment.
