Wesley Harris (D) and Brad Briner (R) running for North Carolina Treasurer

Wesley Harris (D) and Brad Briner (R) are running in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election for North Carolina Treasurer. Incumbent Dale Folwell (R) ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on March 5, 2024.

North Carolina’s treasurer is the state’s chief financial officer, official banker, and a member of the Council of State. The office’s duties include managing the state’s pension and healthcare plans, investments, and unclaimed property and providing financial support to local governments.

The treasurer is the sole fiduciary or trustee of the state’s pension plan. In a sole trustee model, a single individual is responsible for the investment of pension fund assets rather than a board or department. According to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, North Carolina is one of three states with a sole trustee model.

Harris represents the 105th district in North Carolina’s House of Representatives. Before holding public office, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a graduate degree and a Ph.D. from Clemson University. He also worked as a college professor and consultant. Harris is running on his background as an economist and his experience in state government.

In response to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, Harris said, “As a PhD economist with a specialization in Public Finance, making sure our State’s finances are in impeccable shape so that we can make the investments we need is definitely what I am most passionate about.” In an interview with The News & Observer, Harris said he would “invest more of our pension plan to boost returns instead of holding cash, negotiate with health care providers for lower costs by promoting more preventative care, and focus on the financial aspects of a local government’s investments instead of my political leanings.”

Briner is an investment manager and a board member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He previously worked as a Chief Investment Officer for Willet Advisors, which manages the assets of the Bloomberg family. Briner received a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill and a master’s in business from Harvard Business School. He is running on his investment experience.

In his response to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, Briner said, “With my deep experience in managing large pools of capital, I can and will improve performance of the pension plans, which will free up billions for the State Legislature to return to taxpayers or to spend on essential services like education or infrastructure. Currently, we are funding ~$2.8 billion per year into the pension plans, or one in every 6 income tax dollars our state collects. Properly managed, we could reduce that to zero over time.” Briner said he wants to move away from the sole trustee model because he believes small groups make better investment decisions than individuals and because he believes the model enables corruption. In an interview with PBS North Carolina’s Kelly McCullen, Briner said, “It’s ironic, I’m running for office to diminish the power of the office ultimately but I think it’s the right thing to do for our state.”

Harris said he wants to maintain the sole fiduciary model and said eliminating it would give more power to the legislature, which he opposes. Harris said, “It’s about accountability. This is a position that is elected by the people.”

In 2023, North Carolina’s General Assembly passed House Bill 750 enacting anti-ESG policies requiring the state treasurer to only focus on financial factors and prohibiting them from evaluating investments or awarding state contracts based on “environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.”

Both candidates completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

North Carolina is one of 48 states that has a treasurer and one of 10 states holding an election for treasurer in 2024. As of Aug. 2024, 12 states have a Democratic treasurer, 24 states have a Republican treasurer, and 12 states have a nonpartisan treasurer.