Rep. Dan Bishop’s Attorney General Bid Amid Past Voting Record
Rep. Dan Bishop, a Republican representing North Carolina’s eighth district in the U.S. House of Representatives, has announced his candidacy for the state’s Attorney General position. His campaign focuses on strengthening law and order, though his legislative history shows a pattern of opposing funding for law enforcement and crime victims.
Despite a decade-long decline in both violent and property crime rates in North Carolina, with a reported 15% decrease, public safety remains a key concern for voters. Bishop has emphasized crime fears in his campaign, claiming on social media that cities face heightened disorder under Democratic leadership.
Bishop stated on X in January, “Democrat governance brings disorder and danger to our cities … When I’m AG, we’ll support our law enforcement 24/7/365 to keep our streets safe.”
However, in September 2022, Bishop opposed the VICTIM Act and the Break the Cycle Act, both bills aimed at enhancing police resources and violence prevention. These bills passed the House with bipartisan support but encountered roadblocks in the evenly-divided Senate.
Bishop also voted against the 2021 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which included measures to address human trafficking and bolster law enforcement in tribal areas. These provisions could have directly benefited communities within his constituency, especially given North Carolina’s twelfth-place ranking nationwide for human trafficking incidents and the city of Charlotte’s role as a significant hub for such activities. His district also includes the Lumbee Native American tribe, where there have been numerous unsolved cases of missing women since 1998.
Before his tenure in Congress, Bishop served as a state senator and opposed a 2019 amendment to increase the North Carolina Department of Justice’s budget by $3 million.
Furthermore, Bishop has expressed opposition to federal law enforcement funding. According to a 2023 Axios report, Bishop and other House Republicans considered budget cuts for the FBI and the Justice Department. This was amid claims that federal agencies were unfairly targeting conservative figures, including former President Donald Trump, though no evidence substantiated these claims.
Rep. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, is Bishop’s opponent in the race for Attorney General. Efforts to reach Bishop’s campaign for comments were unsuccessful.
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