North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

elections to choose members of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

(who head various executive branch departments) were held November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential,

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

, and statewide judicial elections.

Primary elections Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

were held on May 6, 2008 for races in which more than one candidate filed for a party's nomination. One of the results of the general election was that women held a majority (six of 10, including the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

) of the seats on the Council of State for the first time. Only one incumbent, State Auditor

Les Merritt Leslie Merritt Jr. (born November 19, 1951) is an American accountant and politician. A Republican, he served as the State Auditor of North Carolina from January 15, 2005 to January 10, 2009. Merrit was born in Sampson County. After graduating ...

, was defeated.

Governor of North Carolina

Governor

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. A member of ...

term-limited, so he was not able to run for a third consecutive term as governor. Lieutenant Governor

Bev Perdue Beverly Eaves Perdue (born Beverly Marlene Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as the List of governors of North Carolina, 73rd Govern ...

won the Democratic primary, and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

mayor

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor o ...

won the Republican primary.

Michael Munger Michael Curtis Munger (; born September 23, 1958)News & Observer profile
...

was the nominee of the Libertarian Party. Purdue defeated McCrory in the general election with 50.3% of the vote to McCrory's 46.9%. Perdue was the first female governor of North Carolina.

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina

Lt. Governor Bev Perdue was term-limited and decided to run for governor. State Senator

Walter Dalton Walter H. Dalton (born May 21, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served six terms in the state senate bef ...

won the Democratic primary, and State Senator

Robert Pittenger The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

won the Republican primary. Phillip Rhodes was nominated by the Libertarian Party. In the general election, Dalton defeated Pittenger. Dalton received 51.1% of the vote and Pittenger received 45.9%.

Secretary of State

Incumbent Secretary of State

Elaine Marshall Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide office ...

( Democratic) defeated attorney Jack Sawyer (

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

) on November 4, 2008.

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial ...

Incumbent Auditor

(

) was defeated by

Beth Wood Beth A. Wood (born April 22, 1954) is an American politician and accountant serving as the Auditor of North Carolina since 2009. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the office. Born in New Bern, she initially worked as a dental hygienist b ...

, Former Director of Training for the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor on November 4, 2008. Wood had previously defeate
Fred Aikens
a retired state employee and retired colonel in the

North Carolina Army National Guard The North Carolina Army National Guard is North Carolina's principal military force. The force is equipped by the federal government and jointly maintained subject to the call of either. The professional head of the North Carolina Army National G ...

, in the Democratic primary. Wood won approximately 65% of the vote in the primary.

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Incumbent Attorney General

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

( Democratic) defeated Bob Crumley (Republican), an attorney and owner of Crumley and Associates.

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

Incumbent

Richard H. Moore Richard Hancock Moore (born Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina, August 30, 1960) was the North Carolina State Treasurer from 2001–2009. He was first elected to that post in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. Career Moore earned both his under ...

( Democratic) announced on May 22, 2007 that he would seek the 2008 Democratic nomination for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Candidates to succeed him included three Democrats—state Sen.

Janet Cowell Janet Cowell (born July 19, 1968) is the former North Carolina State Treasurer, serving from 2009 to 2017, and is the first woman to hold that position in North Carolina. She was previously a two-term member of the Raleigh City Council and a tw ...

, Michael Weisel, and

Buncombe County Buncombe County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is A ...

Commissioner David Young—and one Republican, state Rep. Bill Daughtridge. Cowell won the Democratic primary with approximately 46 percent of the vote. Young came in second, with 36 percent. On November 4, 2008,

defeated Bill Daughtridge.

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

Incumbent Superintendent

June Atkinson June St. Clair Atkinson (born August 19, 1948) was elected North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2004, in a race that was decided by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 23, 2005. She was re-elected in 2008 a ...

( Democratic) won renomination by defeating

North Carolina Association of Educators The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is a professional association for public school employees formed in 1970 by the merger of the North Carolina Education Association with the North Carolina Teachers Association. Since North Carolin ...

president Eddie Davis in the Democratic primary (with about 53 percent of the vote). Republican
Joe Johnson
an
Eric H. Smith
lost to former state House co-Speaker Richard T. Morgan in the Republican primary. On November 4, 2008, Atkinson defeated Richard Morgan.

Commissioner of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

Incumbent Commissioner

Steve Troxler Steve W. Troxler (born 1952) is an American farmer and Republican politician. He serves as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for North Carolina. Because of a contested election due to lost ballots in the November 2004 statewi ...

(

) defeated attorney Ronnie Ansley ( Democratic).

Commissioner of Labor

Four Democrats -
Robin Anderson
chair of the State Personnel Commission, Ty Richardson, Mary Fant Donnan, a former N.C. Department of Labor official, and former Labor Commissioner John C. Brooks—filed to run against incumbent Commissioner

Cherie Berry Nora Cherie Killian Berry (born December 21, 1946) is an American politician who served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Labor from 2001 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she was the first woman to hold the office. Early life Nora ...

(

). Mary Fant Donnan finished first, with almost 28 percent of the vote, in the May 6 primary. Brooks was the runner-up. Brooks called for a June 24 runoff, which was his right, because no candidate won more than 40 percent of the vote in the first primary. Donnan defeated Brooks in the runoff, with approximately 68 percent of the vote, becoming the Democratic nominee. On November 4, 2008,

defeated Mary Fant Donnan.

Commissioner of Insurance

Incumbent Commissioner

James E. Long James Eugene Long (March 19, 1940 – February 2, 2009) was the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance from 1985 through 2009 retiring as the senior Democratic member of the North Carolina Council of State. He was the third-longest-serving s ...

( Democratic) surprised observers by not seeking another term. His chosen successor, assistant Commissioner and former state Rep.

Wayne Goodwin George Wayne Goodwin (born February 22, 1967) is an American politician. He was elected North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in the 2008 election and re-elected in 2012. He was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term in 2016. However, h ...

, defeated David C. Smith in the Democratic primary by winning about 56 percent of the vote. John Odom, a former

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

city councilman, was the only Republican candidate. Mark McMains was the candidate of the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties Lists of political part ...

. On November 4, 2008, Goodwin defeated Mark McMains and John Odom.

References

{{reflist

External links

News & Observer: Council of State Republican primaryNews & Observer: Council of State Democratic primary
* ttp://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/1875/4005/en/summary.html State Board of Elections: Primary Election Results 2008 North Carolina elections

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

North Carolina Council of State The North Carolina Council of State is the collective body of ten elective executive offices in the state government of North Carolina, all of which are established by the state constitution. The Council of State includes the Governor, Lieut ...