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FOREST CITY, N.C. — State Sen. Tim Moffitt told Rutherford County Republicans on Thursday that energy policy will shape political debates for the next quarter century, warning that North Carolina faces “a significant deficit” in production as the state shifts away from fossil fuels.
Moffitt, who recently assumed responsibility for the Senate’s energy portfolio after the resignation of Sen. Paul Newton, said he is diving deep into the subject — including a trip this month to West Virginia coal mines. “What a fascinating field that is, because that’s going to be the battleground for the next 25 years politically, is over energy,” Moffitt said.
He criticized Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s approach, saying the administration has embraced “symbolism over substance” in excluding him from a state energy task force created by executive order. “We have a significant deficit regarding energy production, really caused by the left, by their broad departure from fossil fuels to actually using solar and wind,” he told the crowd. “We know that those two areas are really not that good for base load energy. So it’s going to be a significant battleground for us moving forward.”
Moffitt also touched on partisan elections for school boards, linking the issue to broader Republican priorities in Raleigh. “That’s the reason why you have partisan school boards,” he said. “Because if you didn’t have partisan school boards, then the Republican Party would be silent when things like this happen. So every race needs to be partisan.”
Though his appearance was brief — he left early for a Henderson County GOP executive committee vote — Moffitt praised the local party faithful. “The favorite crowd of my three-county district is the Rutherford County crowd,” he said. “Thank you for being the best party in the state of North Carolina.”
Moffitt said he will miss the county GOP’s upcoming Lincoln Reagan Dinner on Sept. 12 but plans to send a video greeting from underground in West Virginia.
