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The bellwether legislative seat Democrats need to win to break the supermajority

By Dylan Rhoney

October 28, 2024

In Wilson County, just an hour east of Raleigh, Democrat Dante Pittman is running for the NC House against a Republican incumbent in an effort to take back power in an area that was once a Democratic stronghold. 

In a state where most lawmakers in the General Assembly are old enough to be his parents, or in some cases his grandparents, the first thing you notice about Dante Pittman is his age. 

But the 28-year-old isn’t focusing on his youth or his impressive resume — he’s a Captain in the North Carolina National Guard and has served on a number of boards in the city and county — as he runs against incumbent Republican Rep. Kenneth Fontenot in North Carolina’s 24th House District. 

Instead, Pittman, a lifelong resident of Wilson County, says he’s focused on local issues and ensuring his community has the strongest representation possible in Raleigh. 

Pittman believes that a lot is at stake for the people of the district in next week’s election. 

“This is such a pivotal time for this community. We have so much on the line,” he said during a sit-down interview at Mikey’s Diner in downtown Wilson earlier this month.

“One of the things that really inspired me to run is to make sure that my community is represented in a fair and balanced way, that our priorities would be lifted up, and we would be able to see folks working across the aisle because one part would not dominate the legislature,” Pittman said.

Addressing those priorities — which include improving public schools, protecting reproductive rights, and supporting farmers — hinges on breaking Republicans’ supermajority in the legislature, Pittman said. 

The priorities of the GOP supermajority and how it harms public schools

Pittman believes that the current Republican supermajority has erased the opportunity for bipartisanship, leading to policies being implemented without broad support.

“The importance of breaking the supermajority is so that folks can once again have confidence that people from both sides of the aisle can come to the table so that we can make sure that working people have a voice again,” he said.

As a result, Pittman said that the legislature’s priorities haven’t focused on the state’s needs.

“We’ve seen the corporate tax rate be cut to 2.5%, and by 2030 will be at 0. We’ve seen that education has not been the top priority it deserves to be. When we’re talking about these private school vouchers, and taking away hundreds of millions of dollars out of our public schools, it is really concerning,” he explained. 

The state’s voucher program allows parents, regardless of income, to apply for a scholarship to offset the cost of sending their child to a private school in lieu of the state’s public schools. The state is scheduled to spend $541 million on the program this school year, with another $215 million increase next year. Long term, North Carolina is projected to spend around $5 billion on vouchers over the next decade.\

Pittman believes that money being spent on vouchers should instead be used to support teachers and the state’s public schools.

“With that amount of money, we could give teachers 8.5% pay raises, we could put 26,000 more four-year-olds into preschool,” he said. “We would be able to help localities and counties update their school buildings and build new facilities.” 

Supporting teachers and public schools will be a priority of his if he’s elected to the General Assembly. 

“One of the things we can do to support our teachers is to value the profession,” Pittman added. “We hear so many politicians now trying to divide teachers from parents, and try to cast public educators as the enemy. They are not. They are the ones that are supporting our children, working every day to educate them.” 

Supporting Wilson County farms and agriculture

@cardinalandpine

State House candidate Dante Pittman of Wilson County spoke about the importance of supporting North Carolina farmers and protecting farmland. North Carolina is on track to lose the second most farmland in America by 2040. #nc #northcarolina #rural #farms #jobs #economy #legislature

♬ original sound – Cardinal & Pine

Despite the changing nature of North Carolina’s economy and the decline of farmland in recent decades, agriculture remains a key industry in Wilson. More than 11.2% of jobs in the city are in the agriculture business, and the county is the second-largest in the state for sweet potato production. Tobacco also grosses around $34 million per year in income for farms, the highest of an agricultural product countywide.

“Agriculture is still a top, top industry here in Wilson County. You’re talking about sweet potatoes, you’re talking about tobacco that’s exported to other countries,” Pittman said.

He says that within the county, 4-H programs and high schools emphasize career opportunities in agriculture so students and young people are aware of their given career options.

“We know that without our farmers, we wouldn’t be anywhere. We look to them to make sure we have our food and supplies that we need,” Pittman said.

Protecting the state’s farmers and farmland has become increasingly difficult amid huge population growth over the past 15 years. 

From 2010 to 2020, the state’s population grew by around 1 million people, and from 2012 to 2022, the state lost nearly 300,000 acres of farmland, around 3.5% of the state’s total farmland. It’s a problem that is projected to get worse.

By 2040, North Carolina is projected to be second only to Texas in terms of farmland loss, with an estimated decline of nearly 1.2 million acres.

As farmland disappears, so too do farms. Statewide, the number of farms declined by 8% between 2017 and 2022. 

Pittman says it’s critical that the state support farmers and preserve farmland.

“It is something that the state of North Carolina has a responsibility, as a major agricultural state, the second most rural state in the country, that we need to utilize our lands, protect our lands, so that small family farms can grow, and that strong farming operations can continue right here in eastern North Carolina,” he said.

Defending reproductive freedom

When the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, they robbed tens of millions of women of the constitutional right to abortion. In the aftermath of that ruling, states have been left to determine the status of abortion laws. 

In May 2023, the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly passed SB 20, which bans abortion at 12 weeks, with exceptions up to 20 weeks for victims of rape or incest and up to 24 weeks if a fetal anomaly occurs. If the life of the pregnant woman is at risk, an abortion can be provided at any point in the pregnancy.

Depending on the outcome of the legislative and gubernatorial elections next week, Republicans could try to pass further legislation restricting abortion. Pittman said the issue of abortion comes down to giving women a choice.

“Just the other week, we had a roundtable where we brought women together, and we brought them together with healthcare providers, and listened to them. One of the things we consistently heard was that folks just want to be able to make the choices for their freedom and decide for themselves,” he said. 

Fontenot voted to pass SB 20 and to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of the bill. Fontenot has also previously said he supports banning abortion  “once a fetal heartbeat is detected,” joining Republicans in other states who’ve used that medically inaccurate and misleading term to justify passing 6-week abortion bans. 

“Folks, when they are learning more about what the new rules are, and the new laws are around this issue, they are becoming more and more discouraged, so we need to give people the freedom they deserve,” Pittman said.

Expanding access to childcare and lowering costs

@cardinalandpine

Childcare is a key concern for many families. NC House candidate Dante Pittman of Wilson County says that salaries for those workers needs to increase. #nc #northcarolina #legislature #costs #childcare #economy

♬ original sound – Cardinal & Pine

Childcare and the lack of affordable childcare slots in North Carolina is also a key issue that Pittman wants to take on. 

Advocacy group NC Child, which operates to support childhood education, says the cost of child care has increased by 32% since 2019. The average cost of full time childcare is now around $9,480 a year in North Carolina, according to TOOTRiS, a child care group that works to connect parents, childcare providers, and employers within communities. 

The childcare crisis has also led to some centers shutting down. During the first three months of 2024, 41 programs across North Carolina were forced to close. 

In June, pandemic-era federal funding for childcare programs expired and lawmakers in the General Assembly passed a temporary measure to make up three-fourths of the funding through the end of this year. If elected, providing additional funding may be one of the first things Pittman votes on next year. 

Pittman said this is a critical issue that must be addressed, and also believes that childcare workers need to be paid better so that childcare centers have enough qualified employees who are incentivized to stay in the field.

“Increased pay for our staff is critical,” Pittman said. “One of the things we talk about here at the local level with other community leaders is that you have folks who work in the fast food industry or are dog walkers that make more money per year than folks working in early childhood education.” 

ZipRecruiter reported that early childhood education salaries averaged around $13.08 per hour as of October 2024.

“We’ve got to get those salaries competitive so that folks that would otherwise be great in this industry, choose this industry,” Pittman said.

The shortage of childcare workers and programs has left parents struggling to get by. A study from the NC Chamber Foundation in 2023 found that around 25% of parents left the workforce due to childcare costs. 

 

Pittman believes solving the pay issue is key to ultimately expanding opportunities for families. 

“Once we make some progress on recruiting folks into the field, we will see the supply of rooms increase and slots for parents, and then we will see the cost per child to the family decrease,” he said. “That’s ultimately what we’re working for, is to make it affordable for families.” 

This will be a close election

For Pittman to do any of the things he wants to do, however, he’ll need to beat Fontenot in November, which will be no small task. Fontenot won his race in 2022 by 2,353 votes, or 9%.

Pittman believes the margin will be much closer this year.

“This is going to be a close race in Wilson County, and we’ve got to do all we can to reach every single voter,” Pittman said.

Nevertheless, he believes in his campaign’s message.

“I have complete confidence in our message and I have confidence in our people.”

Author

  • Dylan Rhoney

    Dylan Rhoney is an App State grad from Morganton who is passionate about travel, politics, history, and all things North Carolina. He lives in Raleigh.

CATEGORIES: STATE LEGISLATURE
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