Wake County's district attorney won't run for reelection
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Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. Photo: Courtesy of the Freeman campaign
Lorrin Freeman, Wake County's district attorney, said Thursday she will not seek reelection for her role in 2026.
Why it matters: Freeman, a Democrat, has been the top prosecutor for the state's most populous county for more than a decade, taking on prosecutions of everything from fatal shootings to voter fraud.
- Her office is currently investigating a North Carolina state trooper over a fatal crash that happened in Raleigh. In January, she dismissed around 200 cases, citing the credibility of the trooper involved in the crash.
Driving the news: In a statement to supporters on Thursday, Freeman said she believes it's the right time to give someone else a chance to bring new energy and vision to the role of Wake County District Attorney.
State of play: In an interview with Axios, Freeman said she had been considering this decision for several months and felt that after 30 years working for the public, she was ready for a transition.
- "I feel confident that there will be other ways to serve the community, but right now I am really focused on doing the job I've been given," she said.
What's next: She did not reveal what other role she might consider, but Freeman did not rule out running for office again.
- "I feel like I've got some fire in the belly in terms of serving, and so I'm not ruling out that I'll seek some other office at some future time," she said.
State of play: Freeman won her last election with 62% of the vote, beating Republican Jeff Dobson, but noted she had a highly competitive primary in 2022 and sometimes broke with her own party.
- She had faced criticism from some in her party, for example, for pursuing a criminal investigation into an advertisement that then-Attorney General Josh Stein's campaign ran against his opponent. (A judge ultimately ruled in favor of Stein's campaign.)
- But she said she was proud of leading Wake County's court system through the pandemic and a digital transformation, expanding a mental health diversion program and expungement clinics to help give people second chances.
- She hopes the next district attorney is given more resources to do their job, noting Wake County now has more than a million residents but "still is very much structured and operates as it did 30 years ago."
What they're saying: "While I understand there are decisions I've made – and probably will still make – that not everybody's gonna agree with," she said, "I hope they have a sense that I've tried to be fair and I've been committed to doing the right thing."