Mr. Bishop is coming home. (*SIGH*)
One thing you can say about Dan Bishop is he likes to stay on the move. He spent four years as a Mecklenburg County commissioner. Two years as a state House member. Two years as a state senator. And now — four years into his career in DC with the US House of Representatives — he’s on the move again.
Bishop, an attorney, has decided to come back to Raleigh — a city he kissed goodbye just FOUR years 
ago — to run for state attorney general. Democrat incumbent Josh Stein is leaving the post to run for governor. Former legislator and veteran state courts official Tom Murry (R) has been campaigning for the AG post for some time. Murry has been positioning himself as dependably conservative. One has to wonder why Bishop would jump into a GOP field that already has a competent, down-the-line conservative in place and running hard.
Don’t get me wrong. Bishop is a good guy. He talks a good game. He effectively communicates conservative ideas. He’s had a respectable conservative voting record. But it seems – with him – like we get a lot of initial fanfare that fades away quickly.
We heard a lot initially about how he was going to get some answers about the travesty known as J6. There are still, more than two years later, a lot of uncharged (and some overcharged) people rotting in federal prison. Dan got a lot of face-time in the media. We got a few hearings. But there’s been little to no movement on dealing with that travesty of justice.
We were told of how Bishop led the revolt against electing Kevin McCarthy speaker. Supposedly, he and his holdouts were going to sit on their hands until McCarthy and the RINOs conceded some things to conservatives. Bishop and his followers came around to support McCarthy. Meanwhile, many of us are sitting around waiting for evidence of those “concessions” Dan & co. allegedly shook out of McCarthy and how they benefit us all, as a whole.
Dan has also made some noise about Hunter Biden and has earned himself some positive publicity. There’s still a lot of work to be done there. It’s a shame to abandon it all and return to Raleigh.
We’ve been hearing about how McCarthy acolyte Dickie “The Strangler” Hudson and state senator Phil Berger led the cheering section encouraging Bishop to ditch DC. (Berger’s top political strategist also works his campaign magic for Bishop.) Neither of those two guys are friends of conservatives. We’ve heard Berger is promising to “look after” and “take care of” Bishop and the state DOJ if Bishop is elected AG in November 2024. (I bet he will.)
Meanwhile, Bishop’s departure from Congress means we have no one left representing the state in DC who could even somewhat honestly be called “conservative.” Surely, the NCGOPe hierarchy has a suitable RINO in the wings — Cotham or Moore, perhaps — waiting to fill the soon-to-be-void in the 9th district.
Do we want an AG beholden to Phil Berger? Or would we prefer one that would indict or prosecute the president pro tem should that need arise? (I can see Murry doing that in a heartbeat. And that is what likely has the NCGOPe so scared and looking so hard for some insurance against — an antidote to — Murry.)
This move certainly takes Bishop out of pocket for a possible challenge to ratfink Thom Tillis in 2026. How would it look to get elected AG in 2024, and then turn around and run to return to DC two years later?
How comfortable can we be that — if he wins — Bishop won’t be ditching us for something else in two to four years? There is a pattern out there already.
I’ve heard from more than a few connected folks who tell me they’re alarmed at how Bishop struggles to produce a coherent response to: “Why do I want to be the AG?”
The aftermath of the 2024 election will leave our state without any conservative representation in DC for the first time in AGES. Dan has been positioning himself as a national conservative leader. Kind of like Mark Meadows did before he moved to 1600 Penn. Kind of like Jesse Helms did from 1972-2002. It’s a shame to see all of Dan’s work trash-canned so quickly.
The hopscotching between jobs and locales is more than a little frustrating. So is the apparent lack of a mission statement explaining what he wants or even why he’s out here.
In the AG’s race, it’s important to not fall for celebrity over substance. Bishop is better known than Murry. We encourage a good close look at Tom Murry. I think we may have a real diamond in the rough on our hands there.
I hope Dan Bishop has already read this print and heeds the need for him to reconsider.
So very sorry to hear this. While Dan Bishop would make an outstanding AG, we need him much more in DC to keep an eye on that sneaky Kevin McCarthy, and in 2026 to run for the US Senate against “Terrible Thom” Tillis.. Now we will probably get an establishment weanie in his congressinal seat and have to start looking again for the conservative who can beat Tillis in the 2026 primary.
The only reason he should leave Washington would be to run for Governor and campaign to have Folwell as his Lt.
We need AGs who will sue the government. And collectively, all GOP AGs need to present a united front. NC needs to join the ranks of other conservative state AGs. That is one of our very last lines of defense. Washington is a cesspool of people swimming in their own shit. If Dan will and can he can do more to protect this state’s citizens from the onslaught of the federal government from NC than in DC.
Tom Murray is a VERY VERY fair weather and weak conservative. He will run as one, talk as on, but will flip flop all over the place when push comes to shove. Think Thom Thillis,
I am very disappointed that Dan Bishop is not going to stay in DC where we need him. However, under the circumstances, having served,in the NC House with both Dan Bishop and Tom Murry, I will have to vote for Dan.
Love “Congressman” Bishop.
Was with Tom Murry, and will stay with Murry for NC Attorney General. Also, comparing either of these two, to Tillis, is absurd.
I respect both.
Bishop will be an excellent AG , and stand up for conservative principles and the constitution. And actually defend our laws , unlike Stein. also , He is positioning to run for Governor in either ‘28 or ‘32.
I like Bishop a lot, but now he has raised questions in my mind with this ploy. He has abandoned conservatives where he is really needed, and that is the US Senate race in 2026. He has also followed the suggestions of people who are liberal weanies that I have no respect for, like Phil Berger and Richard Hudson. If he is going to be taking their advice instead of that from conservatives, maybe Murry would be a better AG. I don’t know what I am going to do in that race now, but Bishop’s move that raised a LOT of doubts about him that weren’t there before. Phil Berger is poison and following his advice is a huge red flag.
Let’s get each candidate on the record:
What is your position on private sector mandates (testing, tracking, tracing, masks, and any vaccine)?
What is your position on government lockdowns, closures, and occupancy restrictions? What is your position on statewide quarantine and isolation of “class or category of persons”?
What is your position on statewide abatement of imminent hazard of “class or category of property uses”?
What is your position on individual sovereignty and autonomy to make decisions about health?
What is your position on parental rights?
What is your position on abortion?
What is your position on religious freedom?
What is your position of legalization of gambling?
What is your position of legalization of marijuana?
What is your position on free speech and censorship?
What is your position on the North Carolina new green deal (SB 951) and associated executive orders?
What is your position on central bank digital currency?
Who have you endorsed for US President, NC Governor, NC Lt. Governor, and NC Labor Commissioner? Or, will you endorse?
Have you accepted any money, in-kind, consultation, and/or assistance from Dee Stewart and/or Paul Shumaker? And, will you?
From which PACs have you accepted any money, in-kind, consultation, and/or assistance? And, will you?
Special question for Tom Murry: as a pharmacist, did you administer covid shots to children despite your having significant reservations about their safety and effectiveness?
Good set of questions. I would also ask Murry if he ever once refused to fill a prescription from a doctor trying to get leftist unapproved options for care to Covid suffers.
Wow. No questions about what steps he will take to combat election fraud?