North Carolina RNs celebrate Josh Stein election win

Registered nurses with National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), are celebrating the victory of Josh Stein in North Carolina's gubernatorial election. NNOC/NNU endorsed Stein because of his support for nurses and their patients, including but not limited to: his advocacy for Medicaid expansion and his defense of the Affordable Care Act in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, which protected millions of North Carolinians with preexisting conditions.

"Nurses look forward to working with Governor Stein to improve workers' rights and access to health care for all North Carolinians," said Hannah Drummond, a RN at Asheville's Mission Hospital. "Not only did we vote for Governor Stein, we also talked to other voters about his track record of listening to nurses and taking action to protect patients from the greed of giant hospital corporations and all those who want to decrease, rather than increase, access to care."

In 2023, he sued HCA for violating the asset purchase agreement it made when it acquired Mission Health in 2019, a move that was applauded by Mission Hospital RNs in Asheville.

Drummond continued: "My community, and the hospital where I work, are still recovering from the devastating flooding wrought by Helene last month. We need competent leaders in our highest offices when crises hit, so nurses in Asheville and across our union made electing Josh Stein our priority."

According to the NC State Board of Elections, a new early voting record was set in the November 2024 election with at least 4.2 million voters casting early in-person votes. Early voters in the 25 counties most impacted by Hurricane Helene turned out at even higher rates than the rest of North Carolina.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is the largest nurses' union in North Carolina, representing thousands of registered nurses at Mission Hospital and the Durham VA.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.