Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee to run the state’s public schools, said Friday that voters shouldn’t be concerned about her past calls for political violence and instead should be focused on her plan to improve public schools.
“Do I talk about a culture war? I sure do. Am I fighting for our children? Absolutely I am,” Morrow said outside the Cary Senior Center, an early voting site. “It is ridiculous to imply that I am calling for an armed revolution.”
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Morrow’s comments came a day after WRAL News reported that she sent a message to supporters calling the Nov. 5 election the “American Revolution 2.0.” Morrow reiterated Friday that she was not calling for literal physical violence.
Morrow wrote in a message to Republican groups in late September: “If we lose NC, we lose the White House and our future. Our children are being attacked. This is the American Revolution 2.0! We either willingly fight now, or we will be forced to fight on Nov 6th. This is war, ladies and gentlemen! Which side of history will you be on?”
The comment caught the attention of political opponents who worried that the statement promoted political violence at a time when fears of such violence has been on the rise.
Morrow, a former nurse and homeschool mom, is in a tight race with Democrat Mo Green. She has a history of statements promoting political violence. In social media posts, she has called for using the military to keep former President Donald Trump in office and once said former President Barack Obama should be executed on pay-per-view so the government could make money. She has previously said the comments were in jest.
On Friday, she deflected questions about her past comments and she said people shouldn’t be concerned because she’s now laser-focused on improving schools.
“I have been purposely talking about the solutions that I'm going to bring to the school system,” Morrow said.
Green, a long-time public school system administrator, said Friday that Morrow’s September comments aren’t about education or students.
“They’re about stoking fear, division, and an extreme political agenda,” Green said, adding: “Our children deserve leaders who will unite us and foster a safe, productive learning environment, not someone who calls for political violence over and over again.”
While Morrow said the comments aren’t calling for violence, they come as fears about political violence are elevated ahead of the first presidential election since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in which Trump supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol as Congress sought to certify the 2020 election.
Morrow was at the capitol that day but says she did not enter the building.
On Friday, Morrow blamed news media for that fear and said her words had been “twisted” to convey violence, and that she doesn’t intend violence.
WRAL News read Morrow’s comments to voters at the election site and asked for their reactions.
“I think it could incite violence,” said Cary voter Erika Lipkin. “We live in a population motivated by fear.”
Karen Abraham, another Cary voter added: “We’ll all be a lot less safe with that kind of rhetoric. Far less safe.”
Added Justin Hibbitts of Cary: “There are people in the world who can take things at face value, which can be really dangerous to say certain things to general public like that.”
An Elon University poll in August showed 70% of North Carolinians have concerns about violence after this election or during the inauguration.
“Voters are very sensitive to candidates’ language connected to violence,” Jason Husser, director of the Elon University poll, told WRAL News on Thursday.
“It’s made people quite concerned, particularly given the events of Jan. 6 to Trump assassination attempts and many other bad things that have happened over the last four, four or five years,” he said.