ELECTION RESULTS: NC Council of State races run close, late into the night

Close races, slim margins and few concessions brought the conclusion of most council of state races into the early-morning hours.

Attorney General

WINNER: D – Jeff Jackson

R – Dan Bishop

Democrat Jeff Jackson took an early lead as early voting and absentee ballots came in, but Republican Dan Bishop pulled votes from NC’s rural counties to keep it close. Bishop conceded just after 11 p.m. with 88 percent of the votes counted and was behind by about 3.5 points. 

Running on a law-and-order platform that echoed many of Trump’s talking points, Bishop lost key counties in the Triad, the Triangle and Mecklenberg, as well as the most populous mountain counties, Buncombe and Watauga, as well as a bloc of counties in the northeast.

Jackson, who amassed more than 2 million TikTok followers as a member of the US House on the strength of his government explainer videos, had almost 52 percent of the vote at the time of concession. He ran on a platform of supporting law enforcement, defending equal protection under the law and tackling the fentanyl epidemic. Before serving in the US House and NC Senate, Jackson was a prosecutor in Gaston County.

“I look forward to getting started,” Jackson said after Bishop’s concession, “and I especially look forward to working with the dedicated public servants of the North Carolina Justice Department.” 

Auditor

WINNER: R – Dave Boliek

D – Jessica Holmes 

Lib – Bob Drach

Incumbent Democrat Jessica Holmes faced a tough competitor in Republican Dave Boliek, a Fayetteville lawyer who serves on the UNC Board of Trustees. Boliek won the rural counties by wide margins to bring him 49.5 percent of the vote while Holmes, who logged big margins in the Triad and Triangle, was unable to make up the difference, falling second by fewer than 100,000 votes.

Libertarian Bob Drach, the only actual accountant in the race, took 3 percent of the votes off the table, about 155,000, effectively acting as spoiler.

Commissioner of Agriculture

WINNER: R – Steve Troxler

D – Sarah Taber

Lib – Sean Haugh

Republican incumbent Steve Troxler took an early lead against two challengers, Democrat Sarah Taber and Libertarian Sean Haugh. Troxler, of Browns Summit, has held the seat for 19 years, during which the economic impact of NC farming has roughly doubled. Taber took heat in recent weeks over her status as an agribusiness owner as opposed to a farmer, while Haugh’s platform was simple: the legalization of marijuana. 

Troxler held the lead with more than 52 percent of the vote throughout the night to become re-elected. He ran on his accomplishments which include establishing the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, which has preserved more than 36,000 acres of farm and forest land, and helping more meat and poultry farmers become registered meat handlers. He has also enhanced thousands of acres of state parks, forest lands and the NC State Fair fairgrounds, among many others listed at his website.

Commissioner of Insurance

WINNER: R – Mike Causey 

D – Natasha Marcus

Scandal plagued incumbent Republican Mike Causey after it came out that he hired a personal friend as his driver on a state salary of $84,000 a year. Challenger, Democrat Natasha Marcus, served three terms in the NC Senate before vying for the seat.

Causey was able to hold on, up almost 4 points after midnight, by lodging big wins in the rural countries and holding Hunt to the urban centers. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, he was up more than 500,000 votes and had more than 52 percent of the vote.

Commissioner of Labor

WINNER: R – Luke Farley

D – Braxton Winston II

With no incumbent in the race — Republican Josh Dobson declined to run for re-election — the open seat for Commissioner of Labor saw an endorsement by former 20-year GOP Commissioner Cherie Berie for Republican candidate Luke Farley. 

Farley held his own in the Triad, keeping the race between 10 and 20 points, and taking the rural counties by big margins. Though Winston did well in the Triangle — taking Orange and Durham counties by 50 and 60 points, respectively — he was down almost 4 points and more than 200,000 votes with 95 percent of precincts reporting. Farley had 52.8 percent of the vote around 1 a.m.

Secretary of State

WINNER: D – Elaine Marshall

R – Chad Brown

Incumbent Democrat Elaine Marshall struggled against GOP challenger Chad Brown late into the night. Brown, a boilerplate Republican who raised money for his campaign by holding a gun raffle, maintained a slight lead over Marshall as the night wore on. But after midnight, Marshall pulled ahead definitively, corralling more than 2.65 million votes with 95 percent of precincts reporting to put her ahead by about 114,000 votes. By 1 a.m., Marshall had 51 percent of the vote to Brown’s 48.9 percent.

Marshall lost Alamance County in her slow, steady climb, but made up for it with big wins in the northeast counties and adding Hoke and Cumberland counties to the usual slate of blue.

Superintendent of Public Instruction

WINNER: D – Mo Green

R – Michelle Morrow

Former Guilford County Superintendent of Schools Mo Green, a Democrat, took on Republican Michelle Morrow, who homeschools her kids, was part of the Jan. 6 Insurrection and has suggested that former President Barack Obama should face a firing squad. Morrow defeated longtime GOP incumbent Catherine Truitt in the primary.

Green scored big victories in the urban counties — in Durham he got more than 82 percent of the vote — while Morrow fell about 135,000 votes short with 95 percent of precincts reporting. Green had more than 51 percent of vote by 1:10 a.m.

Treasurer

WINNER: R – Brad Briner

D – Wesley Harris

Incumbent Republican Dale Folwell left his post to run for governor, where he was defeated by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in the primary. That left the seat open for Republican Brad Briner, a trustee on the UNC Board appointed by Senate President Phil Berger, and former NC House Rep. Wesley Harris, a Democrat. 

Briner scored big in the rural counties while Briner was unable to capitalize on the urban centers, winning by slimmer margins. At midnight, Briner was up by 4.5 points, more than 250,000 votes, with 95 percent of precincts reporting.