Sam Hayes (Attorney general candidate, North Carolina)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Sam Hayes

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1994

Law

Wake Forest University School of Law, 1998

Personal

Birthplace

Winston-Salem, N.C.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

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Personal LinkedIn

Sam Hayes (Republican Party) ran for election for Attorney General of North Carolina. He lost in the Republican primary on March 3, 2020.

Hayes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sam Hayes was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 1994 and a law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law in May 1998. Hayes worked as a litigation attorney for Arnold & Porter LLP from 1999 to 2015, as general counsel for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality from 2015 to 2017, and as general counsel for the North Carolina Department of the State Treasurer from 2017 to 2019. He has served on the advisory board of the UNC Chapel Hill Department of Economics and with the Federalist Society.

Elections

2020

See also: North Carolina Attorney General election, 2020

North Carolina Attorney General election, 2020 (March 3 Republican primary)

North Carolina Attorney General election, 2020 (March 3 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Attorney General of North Carolina

Incumbent Josh Stein defeated Jim O'Neill in the general election for Attorney General of North Carolina on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Stein (D)	50.1	2,713,400
		Jim O'Neill (R)	49.9	2,699,778

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,413,178
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Josh Stein advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of North Carolina.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of North Carolina

Jim O'Neill defeated Sam Hayes and Christine Mumma in the Republican primary for Attorney General of North Carolina on March 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim O'Neill	46.5	338,567
		Sam Hayes	31.1	226,453
		Christine Mumma	22.3	162,301

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 727,321
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sam Hayes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hayes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a litigator with over 20 years of experience, including 16 years in private practice. As General Counsel for both the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality ("DEQ") and the State Treasurer, I have had to do the work that the current Attorney General and his predecessor refused to do. At DEQ, I stood up for family farmers against the Obama EPA's Waters of the United States Rule, which would have been an unconstitutional taking of virtually all agricultural lands east of Interstate 95. I also fought for ratepayers against the EPA's so-called "Clean Power Plan," which would have amounted to an illegal takeover of the state's power grid. As General Counsel for the State Treasurer, I defended a federal lawsuit brought against the State Health Plan because the current Attorney General refused, despite his constitutional and statutory duty to do so. I have already been doing the work of the Attorney General, but I will do it better and more reliably than the current office holder. Rather than playing politics, I will let the Constitution be my guide.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• After nearly 150 years of one-party control of the North Carolina Department of Justice, it is time for a change. It is time for a conservative. And I am a conservtive for a change!
• As the General Counsel for both the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality under Governor McCrory and the Department of State Treasurer, I am the only candidate to have held senior leadership costs in two key state agencies.
• I have already been doing the work that the current Attorney General and his predecessor refused to do. I will continue to do it better and without regard to politics.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Holding sanctuary sheriffs accountable by resurrecting HB 370, which would carry criminal penalties for those law enforcement officials who refuse to cooperate with ICE; pursuing a vigorous defense of North Carolina's Voter ID Law; standing up for the Second Amendment and the right of the people to keep and bear arms; and bringing justice to the victims of sexual assault in North Carolina by finally clearing the backlog of approximately 15,000 untested rape kits at the State Crime Lab.

The attorney general often sets policy priorities for law enforcement. For example, a state's attorney general may decide to dedicate extra resources to combat human trafficking. Are there certain areas of law enforcement that you would emphasize?

Yes. As Attorney General, I will ask the North Carolina General Assembly to give me the authority to hold sanctuary sheriffs accountable for failing to take reasonable steps to protect our citizens. HB 370, which was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper, would have carried criminal penalties for law enforcement officials who refuse to cooperate with ICE. I will ask the General Assembly to revisit that legislation.

Attorneys general can represent their states in legal conflicts with the federal government. Do you consider this an important part of an attorney general's responsibilities?

Yes. It is important to protect against federal overreach. As General Counsel of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, I stood up for family farmers against the Obama EPA's Waters of the United States Rule, which would have been an unconstitutional taking of virtually all agricultural lands east of Interstate 95. I also fought for ratepayers against the EPA's so-called "Clean Power Plan," which would have amounted to an illegal takeover of the state's power grid.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for a state's attorney general to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes. I am the only candidate who has held senior leadership positions in two key state government agencies.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have the experience doing the work of the Attorney General. Unlike the current office holder, however, I will adhere to the Constitution and do the job without regard to politics.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe that it is important to uphold the Constitution and to faithfully execute the duties of the office without regard to politics.

What is your favorite book? Why?

John Adams by David McCullough. John Adams was integral to the founding of our country, but his legacy is often overshadowed by that of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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