North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks during the lighting ceremony for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree on the West Lawn on November 29, 2022 in Washington, D.C.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo

Running against extremism is already a clear theme of Stein’s campaign, who became the first Democrat to launch his bid for the open governorship earlier this month.

Within the first minute of his launch video, Stein’s campaign featured footage of a potential GOP opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and former President Donald Trump on stage together. It spliced together some of Robinson’s anti-abortion rights and anti-LGBTQ comments, including a voice over from Stein: “Some politicians spark division, ignite hate, and fan the flames of bigotry.”

Jim Blaine, a Republican strategist, said Stein’s opening salvo is proof “that they don’t think they can carry the day on the merits of their candidate alone, so they have to make it about the other guy,” he said.

“North Carolina is a competitive state, but it’s Republican-leaning, so you have to nominate a centrist, if you’re a Democrat, to win, and they don’t tend to nominate those candidates,” Blaine continued.