Mo Green: North Carolina is in a fight for the ‘soul of public education’

Mo Green, the Democratic nominee for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, held a news conference Thursday at his party’s headquarters in Raleigh, where he drew contrasts between himself and his Republican opponent, Michele Morrow, who has suggested that former President Barack Obama and other prominent Democrats be executed.

Democratic Party chairwoman Anderson Clayton said that Morrow’s remarks about executing Democratic leaders are “terrifying” and must not be tolerated.

Green, a former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, noted that district’s academic gains under his leadership. He said North Carolina is in a fight for the “soul of public education.”

“My opponent didn’t send her children to North Carolina’s public schools and now she is encouraging others to do the same,” Green said, referring to Morrow, who homeschools her children. “She calls them indoctrination centers and would defund them by sending taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools.”

Morrow defeated incumbent Catherine Truitt in the March 5 primary. She will face Green in the Nov. 5 General Election.

Morrow’s victory propelled North Carolina’s superintendent’s race into the national spotlight, along with the state’s gubernatorial contest between Democrat Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general, and Republican Mark Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor who has downplayed Nazism, denigrated transgender people, verbally attacked Muslims, and said women shouldn’t be leaders.

Morrow has called for abolishing the State Board of Education and refers to Democrats as “communist sympathizers.” She has said that Muslims should be banned from public office and embraces conspiracy theories, including those promoted by QAnon, a far-right group that promotes false conspiracies about the government and individuals.

Green said that Morrow has a much darker view of public education than he does.

“It is one fueled by angry conspiracies and calls for violence, including the executions of President Barack Obama, Gov. Roy Cooper and other elected officials,” Green said. “We should not tolerate this, we cannot accept this, we cannot normalize this kind of rhetoric.”

Green is referring to comments that Morrow made on social media between 2019 and 2021 about executing Democrats for what she described as acts of treason. Morrow’s list has included Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar,  former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, as well as Obama and Cooper.

“I prefer a Pay Per View of him in front of the firing squad,” Morrow wrote in a tweet responding to a user sharing a conspiracy theory who suggested sending Obama to prison at Guantanamo Bay. “I do not want to waste another dime on supporting his life. We could make some money back from televising his death.”

Morrow attacked Green on social media Thursday, calling him the most “radical extremist” Democrats have ever run for superintendent. She criticized his tenure as director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a nonprofit that funds progressive causes and organizations.

“My opponent spent six years leading a progressive organization that funded efforts to destroy families, public schools and everyone’s safety in this state,” Morrow said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

In the days before the primary election, Green said he’d heard that Truitt “might be having some difficulty” in her race against Morrow, but thought the incumbent would muster the votes to win the Republican nomination.

“It was a bit of surprise that she [Morrow] was elected,” Green said.

Given Morrow’s extremism and threat to the state’s economic health, Democrats and others fear that Morrow could frighten away businesses if she wins in November.

“Any state in country that out educates us right now, out competes us right now,” Clayton said. “Someone like Michele Morrow running our superintendent’s office would make it so that we’re not in a place to compete nationally.”

Green has not ruled out seeking Truitt’s endorsement in the General Election.

“At this point, I’m not focused on where Truitt might be,” Green said. “We’ll continue to see how things play out and at some point we might have that conversation.”

Meanwhile, Clayton, the state Democratic Party chairperson, noted that GOP members, including Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, have spoken out against Morrow’s extremism. “Folks have to see that this isn’t about partisan politics,” Clayton said. “We can’t have someone running our public schools and its $11 billion budget who actively targets and attacks public education, public educators and those who support our public schools.”

Note: NC Newsline’s parent organization, States Newsroom, is the recipient of a Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation grant that was awarded subsequent to Green’s tenure with the organization.