WS Chronicle

photo above: Senator Josh Stein (submitted photo)

By TOM FOREMAN Jr.

Associated Press

State Sen. Josh Stein, a former deputy to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, made appearances in some of the state’s larger cities on Monday, Sept. 21, as he officially launched his bid to succeed his old boss.

Stein appeared in Winston-Salem, the second of his four stops after beginning the day in Charlotte. Stops are also planned in Greensboro and Raleigh.

Stein said he wanted to protect families by cracking down on violent crime and protect taxpayers by stamping out Medicaid fraud.

“As attorney general, I’ll stand up for people who work hard and play by the rules, and I will take on politicians and big corporations when they don’t because no one is above the law,” Stein said.

The Democrat initially told supporters Sunday, Sept. 20, of his decision to run for attorney general and launched his campaign’s website. Stein said earlier he was considering a 2016 run for attorney general if Cooper did not seek re-election. Cooper is planning a bid to unseat Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.

Another likely campaign target is gay marriage and the effort by the Republican-led legislature to ban it. Cooper was criticized for refusing to defend the state’s position before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed same-sex marriage.

Stein said he would defend the state on law with which he might personally disagree unless those laws are deemed unconstitutional.

Stein, 49, grew up in Chapel Hill, the son of a civil rights lawyer. He graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and briefly worked as a teacher in Zimbabwe.

Statehouse reporter Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh contributed to this report.