Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson announced today that she’ll seek a third term:
The decision comes as two fellow Democrats in the Legislature have talked about running. Atkinson said in an interview she doesn’t know whether Reps. Tricia Cotham or Rick Glazier will run against her anyway in a primary.
Atkinson says the state’s high school graduation rate has increased during her tenure. She says public schools are in a remodeling initiative of sorts and she doesn’t want to leave in the middle.
Three Republican hopefuls have lined up to win their party’s nomination to challenge Atkinson in the fall. And it does look like it will be Atkinson as the candidate. Even if Glazier or Cotham decides to primary her, I can’t imagine either would be successful.
No doubt political pundits are wondering how Atkinson’s decision will influence John Tedesco’s decision to run or not.
Update (11:05 a.m.): N&O reporter Lynn Bonner tweeted that Glazier still plans to primary Atkinson. On the other hand, Cotham tweeted that she won’t run for the top education post: “I’ve stated all along that I would run for DPI only if June Atkinson did not. She has announced she will run. I’m keeping my word.”
The situation is still in flux, but it appears that we will have a Democratic primary for this position. Jonathan Kappler of the N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation points out that Atkinson’s campaign only has $350 on hand and raised no money during the last six months.
