Your Future is No Laughing Matter

October 19, 2020

by Terri LeGrand

This past week my opponent released new ads. One ad awkwardly features a grim reaper in a failed, humorous attempt to call me “scary.”

This election, and affordable access to health care for hundreds of thousands of working North Carolinians, is not a laughing matter. It’s disturbing that weeks away from the most important election of our lifetime, Joyce Krawiec isn’t just trying to run from her record of denying health care to over 600,000+ North Carolinians – she’s joking about it. Serving in the Senate is a tremendous responsibility, not a joke. There’s too much at stake.

As I speak to voters at the polls during early voting, health care comes up repeatedly as the issue of most concern. It isn’t funny that health care costs are skyrocketing. It isn’t funny that people have a very real fear of losing coverage for their pre-existing conditions, for maternity care, for cancer screenings, and more. It certainly isn’t funny that 600,000+ North Carolinians have no access to health care, during a pandemic, because of the failed leadership of Joyce Krawiec and the Republicans in the NC Senate. The bottom line is, access to affordable health care isn’t a joke.

It also isn’t funny that our children aren’t receiving the education they deserve because our public schools have been starved of the resources they need to ensure every child reaches their full potential. In fact, it is a travesty. Joyce Krawiec has diverted funding from our public schools while peddling the false narrative that our schools are failing. Her failed leadership has resulted in our schools being ranked near the bottom nationally, a flood of teachers leaving the classroom, and an inequity in resources that means that the quality of education a child receives depends on where they live. That’s no laughing matter – that’s an injustice perpetrated against our children and families.

Joyce Krawiec is attempting to use humor to disguise her not-so-subtle attempt to scare you. She wants to scare you into thinking I will defund the police (I won’t). She is trying to scare you into thinking I will take away your private health insurance (I won’t). She is trying to scare you into thinking I will put the needs of rapists ahead of their victims (I would never!). Her dark money supporters are even attempting to scare you into thinking I will take away your dairy and meat (Seriously? I won’t.)

Here is what I will do. I will listen to your needs and fight for working families, not special interests. I will fight to ensure we all have access to affordable health care. I will fight to restore funding for our public schools. I will fight for an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. I will fight for you.

Our message is resonating, and that’s why Joyce Krawiec is so desperately trying to distract you from her record. Folks know what’s at stake and are taking this election seriously. Unlike my opponent, I haven’t taken a dime from corporate PACs. I’m working for you. There are serious issues at stake, serious problems to solve, and serious progress to be made. Your future is no laughing matter.