Associate Justice Michael Morgan. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)

Justice Mike Morgan announced last Thursday that he’ll step down from the North Carolina Supreme Court in early September. While Morgan has not said what he’ll do next, his resignation didn’t exactly dispel the longstanding rumors that he’s running for governor. 

Morgan, 67, would face an uphill climb in the primary against Attorney General Josh Stein, who has a nine-month head start, stronger name recognition, millions in the bank, and can boast two statewide victories in elections where Donald Trump carried North Carolina. Morgan declined to discuss his plans with The Assembly last week, though he said he still has “some desire to contribute to the state.” […]

Jeffrey Billman is a politics and law reporter for The Assembly. The former editor-in-chief of INDY in Durham, he holds a master's degree in public policy analysis from the University of Central Florida.

Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.