The North Carolina chapter of Americans for Prosperity is already wading into legislative primaries in the Tar Heel State, ahead of what the organization promises to be a more active role in the 2024 election cycle.
On Tuesday, AFP-NC announced endorsements for two state senators and three state representatives: Sen. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck; Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash; Rep. Erin Pare, R-Wake; and Rep. Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson.
Of those five, only Chesser faces a primary challenge, in the form of Yvonne McLeod, who narrowly lost to Chesser in the 2020 GOP primary. In a statement, AFP-NC called Chesser “one of the rising stars from the 2023 freshman class in the General Assembly.”
According to the Civitas Partisan Index, all of the districts represented by the five endorsed lawmakers are competitive except for Hanig’s, which is ranked likely Republican. Lee and Pare’s districts both lean Republican, Chesser’s leans Democrat, and Lowery’s is a toss-up.