Candidates In A Closely Watched State Senate Race Differ On Healthcare, Education

All eyes are on the state senate race for North Carolina District 31. The Republican-leaning district is a must-win for Democrats hoping to take back the chamber, and they're investing a lot of money. The race pits Republican incumbent Joyce Krawiec against Democratic challenger Terri LeGrand.

District 31 encompasses rural Davie County and portions of suburban Forsyth County. It's one of only two seats where both major party candidates are women. 

Joyce Krawiec did not respond to multiple interview requests. But in a 2018 interview with WFDD, the commercial real estate development firm owner said her constituents, urban and rural, share the same concerns.

"They want a good education for their children," said Krawiec. "They want good jobs coming to our area. They want school safety because that's been on everybody's mind. They want affordable health care because we're seeing that rising and rising and rising."

Health care is a primary concern for Krawiec. She's the chair of the health and human services appropriations committee in the state Senate, and the four-term senator says she's well-positioned to tackle these issues because she knows the ropes, spearheading health insurance legislation to cover autistic children, for example. 

Krawiec says she's also committed to education and cites the need for raising teacher salaries. 

Her challenger is Piedmont Environmental Alliance co-founder Terri LeGrand, an attorney who's advocated for women, children, families, and at-risk youth. She's the Director of Enrollment Compliance and Technology at Wake Forest University.

LeGrand's health care concerns center around access. She criticizes the Republican-controlled General Assembly for refusing the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion.

"Which means that hundreds of thousands of people in North Carolina are going without health insurance coverage, which was bad before the pandemic, but is unconscionable now when we have an opportunity to provide health insurance coverage to the people for very little to no cost to the state of North Carolina," says LeGrand.

LeGrand also says schools are suffering and starved of funding with per-pupil inflation-adjusted expenditures less today than they were before the recession. So far, LeGrand has outraised Krawiec with roughly $500,000 in the bank, but District 31 remains in the Republican-leaning column with less than one week to go before Election Day.