The Millennial Election: A Voter Guide for a Very Niche Audience

FLIP NC was founded by members of Generation Catalano (IYKYK).

If you’re also clinging to your Delia’s catalogs and ’90s playlists, then we have the voter guide for you. Like us, half of the Democrats running for statewide office in North Carolina were born in the ’80s.

It’s about time someone in power understood the importance of a well-organized Caboodle. So download your sample ballot, invite your crew over for a glass of Tang, and let’s get into it.

These are the Millennials to vote for this year. With your help, we can help turn NC as blue as Bayside High!

Attorney General – Jeff Jackson, 42 

The Attorney General leads the N.C. Department of Justice in its work to prevent crime, provide safeguards for consumers, and defend the rights of North Carolinians.

You may know Jeff Jackson from social media. A major in the Army National Guard, he is a former State Senator (the second-youngest!) and current member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He has fought to expand health care access, including expanding Medicaid, lowering prescription prices, and strengthening Medicare. He’s also worked to protect and expand voting rights.

Jackson grew up in Chapel Hill and went to UNC for law school. He now lives in Charlotte. He and his wife have three children, ages 5 to 14. 

N.C. Auditor – Jessica Holmes, 40

The Auditor is responsible for examining the finances of all facets of state government, ensuring that operations are efficient and not wasting taxpayer money. This office oversees the books and financial affairs of every state agency – and manages an office of over 300 employees.

Incumbent Jessica Holmes – the first Black woman to serve on the Council of State – was appointed to this position by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023. In 2014, she became the youngest-ever elected Wake County commissioner and was elected as chair during her tenure. In this role, she represented over 1 million constituents at-large and helped manage a $1.1 billion budget. As an attorney, she served at the N.C. Industrial Commission, overseeing workers' compensation claims.

Holmes was born and raised in Pender County. She went to undergrad and law school at UNC, where she earned distinction as a Distinguished Young Alumni.

She was named in the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and received an Outstanding Leadership Award from the Raleigh-Apex Branch of the NAACP.

N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture – Dr. Sarah Taber, 41

The Commissioner of Agriculture heads the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which works with the N.C. General Assembly to enact legislation beneficial to agriculture. This role impacts the health and quality of our food by enforcing agricultural and food safety regulations.

Dr. Sarah Taber would be the first Democrat elected to an agriculture position anywhere in the U.S. since 2018.

Taber is a crop scientist and farm operations specialist who wants to prioritize high-value crops like berries, carrots, celery, sweet corn, tree nuts, pumpkins, and orchard fruit, which can bring much more revenue than N.C.’s current standbys like corn, soy, and tobacco. She believes hemp and cannabis are also key opportunities for North Carolina.

Born to a military family, she took field, garment shop, and factory jobs to pay for school.

Taber and her family live in Fayetteville.

N.C. Commissioner of Labor – Braxton WinstoN, 41

This office heads the Department of Labor and is responsible for investigating complaints of wage and hour law violations, employment discrimination, and workplace safety issues. The Commissioner promotes the health, safety, and general well-being of more than 4 million workers in North Carolina.

Braxton Winston was born in Camp Lejeune, where his father was stationed in the U.S. Marine Corps. His mother was a teacher. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover and Davidson College, Winston became a union stagehand and a member of our region’s robust sports television and entertainment production community.

He became a prominent activist after a police shooting in Charlotte and a snapshot that went viral.

Winston served as a Charlotte City Council At-Large member from 2017 to 2023 and served as Mayor Pro Tem.

N.C. Treasurer – Wesley Harris, 38

The treasurer is the chief financial officer of the state, tasked with managing the state's investments. This person is responsible for investing North Carolina’s $100 billion pension fund for state employees, managing the state employee health care plan, and providing fiscal advice to local governments.

Wesley Harris is a Ph.D. economist and current member of the N.C. House of Representatives who lives in south Charlotte.

Harris spent the first years of his life in Taylorsville. His mother was a lifelong public school teacher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UNC and then went to Clemson for his Ph.D.

After the North Carolina legislature passed House Bill 2 (the Bathroom Bill), Harris decided it was time to come home and fight for the North Carolina he remembered growing up – one that focuses on the kitchen table issues that matter, not on partisan payback and attacking neighbors for who they are.

Associate Justice of N.C. Supreme Court – Allison Riggs, 43

Republicans hold a large majority on our State Supreme Court (5-2). 

We have an opportunity to take back our state courts by 2028 – before new maps are drawn for the next decade. But first, in 2024, we must defend Justice Allison Riggs’ seat.

Riggs grew up in West Virginia, in a family with a proud tradition of military service. She put herself through college, graduate school, and law school. She and her husband live in Chatham County.

Appointed to the N.C. Supreme Court by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2023, Riggs is a former N.C. Court of Appeals judge. As a civil rights lawyer, she has spent her career fighting for equal justice under the law for every person, regardless of wealth or skin color. Previously, she served as co-executive director for programs and chief counsel for voting rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, advocating for those who had been marginalized and disenfranchised. As a civil rights lawyer, she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court twice in landmark redistricting cases.

Read our interview with Justice Riggs! 

N.C. Court of Appeals Seat 15 – Martin Moore, 36

The youngest Democrat on the statewide ticket this fall, Martin Moore of Asheville is a Buncombe County Commissioner and an attorney who began his law career as a public defender. He now runs a mediation and appellate law practice. He graduated from UNC and its law school.

During the 2022 election cycle, Moore was the only Democrat in North Carolina to flip a Republican-held county commissioner seat, winning 55 percent to 44 percent against a NASCAR Hall of Famer.

Currently, there are just two judges of color on the Court of Appeals, which has an 11-4 GOP majority – despite the fact that racial and ethnic minorities comprise around 40% of North Carolina’s population.

Read our interview with Moore!