Democratic Gov. Josh Stein was on national television Monday night promoting business in Western North Carolina.
He appeared on CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” talking about Helene recovery and urging people to visit this summer.
“I wanted to go (on the show) because it’s Open for Business Week for Western North Carolina. It was really great,” Stein told reporters on Tuesday.
The late night talk show host and comedian bantered with Stein about the two Carolinas and showed a photo of First Lady Anna Stein canoeing in a river near Boone.
“The way (Colbert) started it out, and I didn’t know he was going to do this, as he showed a picture of Anna canoeing yesterday … and said, ‘So tell me about this picture,’ and it gave me an opportunity to say to all of America, Western North Carolina is open for business.”
“Hurricane Helene was unbelievably devastating,” Stein told Colbert, and thanked him for fundraising for hurricane relief. He echoed his comments back in Raleigh on Tuesday, talking to reporters after a Council of State meeting.
“The best way you can help now is to have a great time. And that’s not a hard sell, because everyone knows that if you go to Western North Carolina, you will have a great time,” Stein said.
Stein said that Colbert started to talk about North Carolina vs. South Carolina barbecue, “but we got busy talking about FEMA and Medicaid and other important things.”
Colbert, who is from South Carolina, told Stein, “You’re from North Carolina, so close to the right Carolina.”
Josh Stein encourages others to go to Western NC
During the Council of State meeting on Tuesday, Stein encouraged the nine other statewide elected officials to visit the western part of the state this summer. Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek invited Stein to play golf with him in WNC this summer, too.
“If you’ve got a long weekend, if you have a favorite place to go, go there. If you hadn’t been there in a long while, go to a town you’ve never been to. You will find a jewel wherever you go, they are open for business,” Stein said during the meeting.
He told reporters Tuesday that when he visited the town of Marshall, half the storefronts were reopened, and “some of them are just gone. They washed down the river.”
But he also saw store owners in buildings with hammers and nails and installing glass windows. The total count is 50% reopened, 40% working to reopen and 10% are gone.
“So everyone is working furiously to reopen, and it’s exciting to see. We just need to help them get the revenue that they need to stay in business, because what we don’t want is for them to have busted their tails for eight months, nine months, to open their doors and not have enough customers to survive,” Stein said.
Talking storm recovery, FEMA with Stephen Colbert
Colbert shouted out Flat Rock, Hendersonville, Tryon, Asheville, the Green River, the French Broad — “I love fishing up there.”
Colbert also mentioned Mud Dabbers pottery shop in Brevard as he encouraged visitors.
The conversation turned to storm recovery and FEMA, with Stein saying that eliminating the federal agency, as President Donald Trump is considering, “would be a man-made disaster.”
They also talked about Stein being a Democratic governor working with a Republican-controlled General Assembly. Stein said that while there are partisan differences on a lot of issues, “core issues” like Helene recovery, safety in neighborhoods, good schools and jobs are “not red issues or blue issues, they’re North Carolina issues.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 1:03 PM.
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Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.
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