Former North Carolina legislator Tom Murry running for attorney general

A local prosecutor, pharmacist and former state legislator announced on Friday he will run for North Carolina attorney general next year.

Republican Tom Murry of Wake County said he’ll seek to succeed Democratic AG Josh Stein, who announced last month he’s running for governor.

Murry served in the state House in the 2010s following a stint on the Morrisville town council. He later worked for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Murry is currently a licensed pharmacist and North Carolina Army National Guard member, and recently has been an assistant district attorney for a five-county region north of Raleigh.

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“My pledge to the people of North Carolina is simple, I will stand beside local law enforcement, district attorneys and victim’s advocates to defend not defund the rule of law for all North Carolinians,” Murry said in a news release while criticizing Stein’s AG tenure..

Murry’s release pointed to a list of endorsements that included current and former legislators and some ex-judges, as well as to his efforts while in the legislature pushing for voter photo identification and regulatory reforms.

Murry also said he would create a “rapid response statewide drug task force” if elected to go after criminals who bring fentanyl to the state.