Republican Luke Farley was elected Labor Commissioner with nearly 53% of the vote, topping Democratic candidate Braxton Winston.
It was the first run for elected office by Farley, who grew up in Onslow County, earned a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 2007 and a law degree from Wake Forest University in 2010. Farley has worked as a construction attorney for the Ellis & Winters firm in Raleigh since 2019. He had previously worked for the Conner Gwyn Schenk firm, which has offices in Greensboro and Raleigh.
Current Commissioner Josh Dobson decided against seeking a second four-year term. Dobson is resigning at 5 p.m. today, he said in a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper.
Farley credits his win to being a “common sense conservative who will take a balanced approach. We had support from both small businesses and labor unions, and that is hard to come by.”
The commissioner’s key role is to ensure safe workplaces, including inspecting elevators at offices and apartments. The job had been held by Cherie Berry from 2001-21, then Josh Dobson was elected for a four-year term in 2020.
Winston is a former Charlotte City Council member and union stage grip who took strong pro-union stances during his campaign. North Carolina, which ranks among the least-unionized states, needs to bolster its workplace safety staffing and regulations, Winston emphasized.
Farley says the political job is a “natural transition” from his legal work. He surprised many political observers by defeating former N.C. Rep. Jon Hardister in the Republican primary in March.
Concern that Mark Robinson’s controversial campaign for governor would hurt other Republican candidates didn’t seem to materialize, Farley said. “It appeared not to have affected us at all,” he says. “Voters considered each race and each candidate to make the best decisions.”
Campaigning across the state was “the best experience of my life” aside from marriage and parenthood, Farley said.
Farley won 2.8 million votes, more than all about Governor-elect Josh Stein and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler in the 10 Council of State elections.
In a Facebook post, Winston noted, “We are both dads to three children, and I know the sacrifices [Farley] made for the love of our state. Thank you for stepping up to run, and I hope you prioritize all workers as you step into this very important position.”
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.