Per unofficial results, Mo Green will be the next state superintendent of public instruction. Green won 51.18 percent of the vote, while his Republican opponent, Michele Morrow, won 48.82 percent of the vote, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Green previously served as the superintendent for Guilford County Schools and the legal counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.
His platform included increasing school safety and mental health services, as well as increasing teacher pay and support resources. In contrast to Morrow, he believes schools should be able to keep student sexuality and gender information confidential.
He was endorsed by former N.C. governors Jim Hunt and Bev Perdue as well as U.S. Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12) and Deborah Ross (NC-2). He was also endorsed by the North Carolina Association of Educators and the Sierra Club.
His Republican opponent, Michele Morrow, defeated incumbent Catherine Truitt in the primary in March by just four percentage points.
Over the course of her campaign, Morrow has referred to public schools as “indoctrination centers” and has said the plus in LGBTQ+ stands for pedophilia. She’s also been covered by national media, mainly because of past social media posts calling for violence against Democrats including former President Barack Obama, which she has later said was a “joke.”
Morrow’s platform advocated for public schools to promote equality and American values. Morrow is also against critical race theory in support of private school voucher programs and wants to emphasize parental rights.