North Carolina elections to choose members of the Council of State (who head various executive branch departments) were held November 4, 2008. This coincided with the

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and statewide judicial elections. Primary elections 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) of the seats on the Council of State for the first time. Only one incumbent, State Auditor Les Merritt, 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 won the Democratic primary, and Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory 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 won the Democratic primary, and State Senator Robert Pittenger 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 (

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

) defeated attorney Jack Sawyer ( Republican) 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 Les Merritt ( Republican) was defeated by Beth Wood, 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, 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 (

) 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 ...

(

) announced on May 22, 2007 that he would seek the 2008 Democratic nomination for governor. Candidates to succeed him included three Democrats—state Sen. Janet Cowell, Michael Weisel, and Buncombe County Commissioner David Young—and one Republican, state Rep.

Bill Daughtridge William Gray "Bill" Daughtridge Jr. (December 19, 1952 – September 2, 2019) was a businessman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, who served three terms from 2003 to 2008 as a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing ...

. Cowell won the Democratic primary with approximately 46 percent of the vote. Young came in second, with 36 percent. On November 4, 2008, Janet Cowell defeated

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 (

) won renomination by defeating North Carolina Association of Educators 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 Richard Timothy Morgan (July 12, 1952 – October 10, 2018) was a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives representing the state's thirty-first and later fifty-second districts, including constituents in Moore County, fo ...

in the Republican primary. On November 4, 2008, Atkinson defeated Richard Morgan.

Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Commissioner Steve Troxler ( Republican) defeated attorney Ronnie Ansley (

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 John Charles Brooks (born January 10, 1937) is an American attorney who served as North Carolina Commissioner of Labor from 1977 to 1993. Early life John Brooks was born on January 10, 1937 in Greenville, North Carolina. He graduated from Greenv ...

—filed to run against incumbent Commissioner Cherie Berry ( Republican). 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, Cherie Berry defeated Mary Fant Donnan.

Commissioner of Insurance An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...

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 ...

(

) surprised observers by not seeking another term. His chosen successor, assistant Commissioner and former state Rep. Wayne Goodwin, defeated David C. Smith in the Democratic primary by winning about 56 percent of the vote. John Odom, a former Raleigh city councilman, was the only Republican candidate. Mark McMains was the candidate of the Libertarian Party. On November 4, 2008, Goodwin defeated Mark McMains and John Odom.

References

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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