Josh Stein

Joshua Harold Stein (born September 13, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 50th Attorney General of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously was a member of the North Carolina Senate representing District 16, located in Wake County. While a member of the North Carolina Senate, Stein announced in 2013 that he would run for re-election in 2014 and then for North Carolina Attorney General in 2016. His former boss, Attorney General Roy Cooper, successfully ran for Governor in 2016. Following his win in the Democratic primary, Stein resigned from his seat in the State Senate to focus on the race for Attorney General. Stein won the general election, defeating Republican Buck Newton. He was the first Jewish person in North Carolina history to win a statewide election. Stein was re-elected in 2020, defeating Republican Jim O'Neill. On January 18, 2023, Stein announced his campaign for Governor of North Carolina in 2024. Early life and education Josh Stein was born on September 13, 1966, in Washington, D.C. His family then moved to Charlotte, North Carolina before settling in Chapel Hill. He attended Chapel Hill High School and played on its soccer team. Stein's father, Adam Stein, co-founded North Carolina's first integrated law firm. Stein graduated from Chapel Hill High School and earned his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College. After college, he taught English and economics in Zimbabwe. Stein then went on to earn degrees from Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government. Early career Stein has worked for the Self-Help Credit Union in Durham and for the United States Senate. In the late 1990s he became an intern for State Representative Dan Blue. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper later appointed him Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection. In 1998 he managed John Edwards' U.S. Senate campaign. From 2012 until 2016, he served as Of Counsel at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, a regional law firm.