Dan Forest
A conservative architect who climbed to North Carolina's second-highest office, championing school choice and a failed gubernatorial bid in 2020.
Born 1967 (age 59)·34th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina·Birthday: October 15·Generation X
Biography
Dan Forest entered politics not as a careerist but as a professional architect, a background that informed his view of building policy frameworks. The son of former U.S. Congresswoman Sue Myrick, he leveraged name recognition but carved his own identity as a staunch social and fiscal conservative. His two terms as Lieutenant Governor, from 2013 to 2021, were defined by his advocacy for expanding charter schools and private school vouchers, often positioning himself to the right of the Republican-led legislature. Forest presided over the state senate with a firm hand, and his tenure was marked by public clashes with Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, whom he would later challenge in the 2020 gubernatorial race. That campaign, run during the turbulent COVID-19 pandemic, saw Forest strongly oppose state-mandated lockdowns and mask orders. He ultimately lost to Cooper by a wider margin than expected, a result that signaled shifting political dynamics in a rapidly changing North Carolina.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Dan was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Dan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the 34th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina for two terms, from 2013 to 2021.
- Was the Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina in the 2020 election.
- Championed and helped pass significant expansions of the state's school voucher program.
- Presided over the North Carolina State Senate as part of his constitutional duties as Lieutenant Governor.
Did You Know?
He is a licensed architect and worked in that profession for over 20 years before entering politics.
His mother, Sue Myrick, was a U.S. Representative from North Carolina for nearly two decades.
He and his wife, Alice, have four children, including triplets.
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