The other day on TV a mother wearing a long white sweater sitting beside her dining room table talked about her son dying of a fentanyl overdose – then said she typically voted Republican but this time ‘Josh Stein is who I want to be governor.’

The same day in a video on Facebook, waving a pair of baseball caps with his name across the front in his hands, Mark Robinson chortled: Hello, North Carolina. I know you all have been traveling across the state and seeing these great hats. Online at our merchandise store we’ve got hats, t-shirts, we’ve got everything you want. Go on our website and buy this great merchandise and support a great candidate.

Watching those two ads was like staring into two different worlds.

I met Josh Stein before he ever ran for office – sitting at a table at a luncheon in a packed room he was friendly and a tad remote. We didn’t see eye to eye on much but he didn’t hesitate to disagree. He was honest about what he believed.

Cocky, a natural showman, brash, when Mark Robinson walks into a Republican party meeting a sort of frenzy seizes his followers. But he’s also got a mean streak that leaves me shaking my head.

I still don’t agree with Josh Stein on much but honest matters. It’s pretty clear in politics these days when you lose honesty there’s not much left but quicksand.

Two men. Two different worlds. Built on two different foundations. And when the sun sets on election day one will be the most powerful man in North Carolina.