John, my parents always taught me that government should be a force for good, but that’s not how government has always operated here in North Carolina.

Eight years ago today, GOP leadership called the legislature into a special session and rammed through House Bill 2—the infamous “bathroom bill”—in a matter of hours.

HB2 was an unmitigated disaster in more ways than I can count. It wrenched control away from local governments, it was a reactionary attack on one of North Carolina’s most vulnerable communities, and in passing it, our leaders showed the world the ugliest possible side of our state. They sent the message that North Carolina wasn’t going to be a place where everyone was welcome to prosper and thrive.

And that’s not a message that brings us the economic opportunities we know we need for our people to succeed.

That wasn’t the North Carolina I knew growing up, and it’s a major factor in why I decided it was time for me to step up and run for the legislature. Because if you want a government that does good for its people, you need to make sure you have good people in government.

But building a government that actually believes in its people—that seeks to nurture their potential rather than attacking them for being different—is a much bigger task than just one candidate or one election, especially when the NC Republican Party seems so eager to repeat the mistakes of HB2.

We’ll all need to pull together if we’re going to build a different vision for our future.

Just last year, the GOP rammed through extreme limitations on a woman’s right to choose. They launched assaults on the ability of LGBT minors to access lifesaving medical care. And the candidates they have on the ballot in 2024 are so eager to double down on those dangerous culture war attacks on our neighbors that other states are already circling us like sharks smelling blood in the water.

Let me be clear: we cannot afford to make this same mistake twice. We’ve rebuilt a lot of goodwill over the last few years, in large part because Governor Cooper’s veto pen has helped to moderate the GOP’s worst impulses. But it would be so easy to throw all that away. We are standing on the edge of a precipice, and if we want to stop playing defense year after year and actually improve our situation rather than just stemming the bleeding, we have got to build a statewide coalition that will actually allow Democrats to govern.

That’s a big part of why I’m running for Treasurer: because on a statewide ballot, I can get out to corners of our state that haven’t heard from Democrats in far too long and make the case that Republican governance has failed them, will continue to fail them, and that Democrats are the ones with a sustainable vision for the future. I can spread the word that our party is the party that believes in our people.

My results on primary night in the rural east showed that if you just get out there and give people something to hope for, they’ll come home. They’ll turn out. And when we do that, we win. When we win, we can protect our neighbors and stop the hate. And when we make North Carolina the welcoming place for everyone that it is and ought to be, then we can attract the economic opportunities that will give all our people the chance to succeed.

It’s not hyperbole to say that this election is a battle for the soul of our state, whether we’ll double down on the GOP’s worst impulses or pick ourselves up and chart a new path. To win that battle, our side needs resources. By far the biggest expense any campaign has is just getting our message out to voters—and let me tell you, there are parts of our state where it’s actually more expensive to get up on TV than it is in New York City.

So I know I ask a lot of you, but it’s only because we can’t let up for even a minute with this one. This will be a multimillion dollar race, but if we run it right and get out where we need to, we could reactivate voters who will support our candidates up and down the ticket because they see the vision that Democrats have. Our campaign will be a key player in winning back control of the legislature, electing Josh Stein, and reelecting President Biden. And I need your support to make that happen.

John, can I count on you to make a contribution today? Democrats are presenting a better vision for our state’s future in 2024—one that’s not built on hate and divisive culture war rhetoric—and we can’t do it without your support. If everyone who will open my email today gives just $25, we would blow right through our March fundraising goal. It all adds up when we all chip in.

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Thanks so much for everything you do to support this campaign. Together, I know we can change our future and bring opportunity back to every corner of North Carolina.

Best,
Wesley Harris

Wesley Harris is a North Carolina native and the only PhD economist in the General Assembly. First elected in 2018, he has been fighting hard for the residents of southern Mecklenburg County and working to make our state the best place in the country to live, work, and start a family. Now, Wesley is running for Treasurer to make an investment in our state's greatest asset, its people. Together, Wesley believes that we can unlock the potential of our people and build opportunity for every North Carolinian.

www.harrisfornc.com

Paid for by Wesley Harris for NC
Wesley Harris for NC
P.O. Box 77764
Charlotte, NC 28271
United States

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