Two longtime state legislators announced plans to retire as 2024 candidate filing began Monday.
Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, said she won't seek reelection. Krawiec leads Senate committees overseeing healthcare policy and state pensions, and she sponsored voter ID legislation. She also advocated for new abortion restrictions during this year's session.
In a news release, Senate leader Phil Berger praised Krawiec as "a conservative stalwart."
"Her influence can be felt throughout our caucus as a skilled legislator, trusted mentor, and well-respected colleague," he said.
Krawiec is endorsing former Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board member Dana Caudill Jones, who filed Monday for the Senate district that includes portions of Forsyth and Stokes counties.
Krawiec has served in the Senate since 2014. She joins Sen. Dean Proctor, R-Catawba in announcing retirement plans from the chamber.
On the House side, Rep. Rosa Gill, D-Wake, said she won't run for reelection. The Raleigh Democrat has served in the state House since 2009 and previously served on the Wake County school board for a decade. She's a former teacher who's been active on education issues in the legislature.
Gill told WUNC that she's ready to retire. "I've served long enough," she said.
Wake County school board member Monika Johnson-Hostler filed Monday to run for the House seat representing southeastern Wake, posing for a picture with other Democrats in the Wake County House delegation. Johnson-Hostler has served on the school board since 2013 and is the executive director of the N.C. Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
In other news from the first day of 2024 candidate, which runs until Dec. 15:
- Democrat Luis Toledo is dropping out of the race for state auditor. Toledo is a former assistant state auditor who wanted to replace fellow Democrat Beth Wood. He said Gov. Roy Cooper's decision to appoint former Wake County Commissioner Jessica Holmes means the outcome of the Democratic primary is predetermined.
- Chrelle Booker, mayor pro tem of Tryon in Polk County, filed to run for governor as a Democrat. She ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate last year.
- N.C. Court of Appeal Judge Hunter Murphy, a Republican, filed for re-election alongside two opponents: Buncombe County Commissioner Martin Moore, a Democrat, and Chris Freeman, a District Court judge and Republican from Rockingham County.
- Carrboro attorney Ed Eldred, a Democrat, filed for the Court of Appeals seat currently held by Republican Judge Valerie Zachary.
- Former Guilford County Commission Chairman Alan Branson filed to run for the N.C. House seat currently held by Rep. Jon Hardister, who is running for labor commissioner.
- Former N.C. Rep. John Blust filed for the Guilford County House seat currently held by Rep. John Faircloth, who is retiring.
- Kings Mountain Town Councilman David Allen and Rutherford County school board member Paul Scott filed for the House seat that Speaker Tim Moore is vacating as he runs for Congress.
