NC Treasurer announces run for governor

A third person announced that they're running for governor of North Carolina: Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell.

Driving the news: His announcement, made at the Forsyth County GOP's annual convention Saturday, came just two days after his likely primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, set a date for a rally where he's expected to announce his own bid.

Catch up quick: As state treasurer since 2017, Folwell has successfully won two statewide races.

• But he'll be an underdog in the race against Robinson, who's been building momentum and a war chest for his gubernatorial campaign for nearly two years now.

Top Republican political operative Jim Blaine has been saying as much: "Mark Robinson spent the last two years winning the 2024 Republican primary for governor," Blaine's firm said in a December polling memo. "Anybody who challenges him at this point is going to be a bump on his road to the nomination."

The bottom line: We have 344 days to go until the March primary, where Folwell and Robinson — and whoever else enters the race — will face off.

• And there are still 589 days until the November General Election, and we know better than to make any bets on how this might shake out.