# 2020 North Carolina Council of State elections

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2020 :
vte :
The North Carolina Council of State elections of 2020 were held on November 3, 2020, to select the ten officers of the North Carolina Council of State. These elections coincided with the presidential election, elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the Senate and elections to the North Carolina General Assembly and top state courts. Primary elections were held on March 3, 2020, for offices for which more than one candidate filed per party.
The ten members of the North Carolina Council of State are statewide-elected officers serving four-year terms.
The result of the 2020 elections was a Council of State consisting of four Democrats and six Republicans, just as it had been before the elections. Three seats (Lieutenant Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Labor) were open, but in each case, a Republican succeeded a fellow Republican.

## Governor

Incumbent governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, ran for a second term. The Republican Party nominated Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest. The Libertarian Party nominated Steven J. DiFore, and the Constitution Party nominated Al Pisano. Cooper won re-election to a second term with 51.5% of the vote. Cooper received the most votes of any Democrat on the ballot in North Carolina in 2020.

## Lieutenant governor

Incumbent lieutenant governor Dan Forest, a Republican, was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits set by the North Carolina Constitution. Forest ran for the governorship.
The Republican Party nominated Mark Robinson, a businessman and first-time political candidate. The Democratic party nominated State Representative Yvonne Lewis Holley. Robinson defeated Holley, winning 51.6% of the vote to Holley's 48.4%. Robinson thus became North Carolina's first African-American lieutenant governor.

## Attorney general

Incumbent attorney general Josh Stein, a Democrat, ran for a second term. He faced Republican nominee Jim O'Neill in the general election. Stein defeated O'Neill by just over 13,000 votes out of over 5.4 million cast.

## Secretary of state

Elaine Marshall, a Democrat, was first elected to the position of secretary of state in 1996 and had held the position since then. She was currently the longest-tenured member of the Council of State. She was unopposed in the primary. The Republican Party nominated businessman E.C. Sykes. Marshall won with 51.2% of the vote, a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than what she received in 2016. She was elected to her seventh term as secretary of state. No Republican had won election to this office since 1872, the longest streak for any state office in the country.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Elaine Marshall, incumbent secretary of state

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Chad Brown, Gaston County commissioner
* Michael LaPaglia, business consultant and nominee for North Carolina Secretary of State in 2016
* E.C. Sykes, businessman

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Chad Brown | Michael LaPaglia | E.C. Sykes | Undecided |
| Harper Polling/Civitas Institute | December 2–4, 2019 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.38% | 20% | 4% | 5% | 71% |

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | E.C. Sykes | 296,457 | 42.9 |
| | Republican | Chad Brown | 262,595 | 38.0 |
| | Republican | Michael LaPaglia | 131,832 | 19.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 690,884 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Likely D | June 25, 2020 |

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Elaine Marshall (D) | E.C. Sykes (R) | Undecided |
| Cardinal Point Analytics (R) | July 22–24, 2020 | 735 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 44% | 42% | 14% |
| Cardinal Point Analytics (R) | July 13–15, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 47% | 39% | 14% |

#### Results

North Carolina Secretary of State election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Elaine Marshall (incumbent) | 2,755,571 | 51.16% | −1.10% |
| | Republican | E.C. Sykes | 2,630,559 | 48.84% | +1.10% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,386,130 | 100.0% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## State auditor

Incumbent Auditor Beth Wood, a Democrat, ran for a fourth term. She was narrowly re-elected in 2016, winning by just over six thousand votes. Wood was challenged in the Democratic primary by Luis Toledo, a former Assistant State Auditor. Toledo argued that change was needed in the Auditor's office. Beth Wood won the primary by a large margin. Anthony Street, a small business owner and member of the Brunswick County Soil and Water Board, won the Republican primary. Wood won the general election with 50.9% of the vote.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Luis Toledo, U.S. Air Force veteran
* Beth Wood, incumbent state auditor

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Beth A. Wood (incumbent) | 895,610 | 77.7 |
| | Democratic | Luis A. Toledo | 257,433 | 22.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,153,043 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Tim Hoegemeyer, general counsel for the Office of State Auditor and U.S. Marine Corps veteran
* Tony Wayne Street, Brunswick County Soil and Water Board member

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Anthony Wayne (Tony) Street | 379,051 | 56.2 |
| | Republican | Tim Hoegemeyer | 295,903 | 43.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 674,954 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Results

North Carolina State Auditor election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Beth A. Wood (incumbent) | 2,730,175 | 50.88% | +0.81% |
| | Republican | Anthony Wayne (Tony) Street | 2,635,825 | 49.12% | −0.81% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,366,000 | 100.0% | |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## State treasurer

Incumbent Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican, ran for a second term.
Duke University professor Ronnie Chatterji won the nomination of the Democratic Party by receiving 36% of the vote in the primary. He defeated Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera and Matt Leatherman, who served as policy director for former state treasurer Janet Cowell.
Folwell defeated Chatterji in the general election. Folwell won 52.6% of the vote to Chatterji's 47.4%.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Dimple Ajmera, Charlotte city councilwoman
* Ronnie Chatterji, professor at Duke University
* Matt Leatherman, policy director for former North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Dimple Ajmera | Ronnie Chatterji | Matt Leatherman | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | February 2–4, 2020 | 604 (LV) | - | 9% | 4% | 8% | 80% |
| Public Policy Polling | January 10–12, 2020 | 509 (LV) | - | 10% | 5% | 6% | 80% |

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Ronnie Chatterji | 411,732 | 35.8 |
| | Democratic | Dimple Ajmera | 390,888 | 34.0 |
| | Democratic | Matt Leatherman | 347,226 | 30.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,149,846 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Dale Folwell, incumbent state treasurer

### General election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Dale Folwell (R) | Ronnie Chatterji (D) | Other | Undecided |
| East Carolina University | October 27–28, 2020 | 1,103 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 48% | 44% | 3% | 5% |
| Meeting Street Insights (R) | October 24–27, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4% | 44% | 45% | – | 8% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | October 22–25, 2020 | 504 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 43% | 44% | – | 13% |
| East Carolina University | October 15–18, 2020 | 1,155 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 47% | 43% | 3% | 7% |
| East Carolina University | October 2–4, 2020 | 1,232 (LV) | ± 3.2% | 44% | 44% | 1% | 11% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | September 17–20, 2020 | 612 (LV) | ± 3.96% | 39% | 39% | – | 22% |
| East Carolina University | August 29–30, 2020 | 1,101 (LV) | ± 3.4% | 41% | 40% | 5% | 14% |

#### Results

North Carolina State Treasurer election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Dale Folwell (incumbent) | 2,812,799 | 52.58% | −0.12% |
| | Democratic | Ronnie Chatterji | 2,537,019 | 47.42% | +0.12% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,349,818 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Superintendent of Public Instruction

Mark Johnson was elected to the position of State Superintendent in 2016, defeating incumbent June Atkinson by a narrow margin. Johnson opted not to run for a second term as Superintendent, instead declaring his candidacy for lieutenant governor. Johnson's candidacy was unsuccessful, placing third in the Republican primary.
Jen Mangrum, an associate professor at UNC Greensboro, received the most votes out of the five candidates in the Democratic primary. Catherine Truitt, chancellor of Western Governors University North Carolina and a former education advisor to Governor Pat McCrory, ran for the Republican nomination. She defeated State Representative D. Craig Horn in the primary. This was the only Council of State election in which both candidates were women.
On Election Day, Truitt defeated Magnum by 2.76 percentage points. She won a slightly higher percentage of the vote than Mark Johnson did in 2016.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* James Barrett, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school board member
* Constance Lav Johnson, educator and activist
* Michael Maher, assistant dean of professional education at North Carolina State University
* Jen Mangrum, associate professor at UNC Greensboro and candidate for North Carolina Senate in 2018
* Keith Sutton, Wake County School board member

##### Withdrawn

* Amy Jablonski, educational consultant and former teacher

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jen Mangrum | 378,396 | 33.2 |
| | Democratic | Keith Sutton | 303,592 | 26.6 |
| | Democratic | Constance Lav Johnson | 240,710 | 21.1 |
| | Democratic | James Barrett | 122,855 | 10.8 |
| | Democratic | Michael Maher | 95,239 | 8.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,140,072 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Declared

* D. Craig Horn, state representative
* Catherine Truitt, chancellor of Western Governors University in North Carolina and former senior education advisor to Pat McCrory

##### Declined

* Mark Johnson, incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Catherine Truitt | 391,915 | 56.7 |
| | Republican | D. Craig Horn | 299,578 | 43.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 691,493 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Catherine Truitt (R) | Jen Mangrum (D) | Undecided |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | October 22–25, 2020 | 504 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 42% | 45% | 13% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | September 17–20, 2020 | 612 (LV) | ± 3.96% | 38% | 38% | 22% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | August 6–10, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 35% | 35% | 31% |

#### Results

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Catherine Truitt | 2,753,220 | 51.38% | +0.78% |
| | Democratic | Jen Mangrum | 2,605,169 | 48.62% | −0.78% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,358,389 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican, was first elected in 2004. He was unopposed in the primary.
Three Democrats ran to challenge Troxler: Walter Smith, who ran for the office in 2012 and 2016 (losing to Troxler both times), Jenna Wadsworth, a Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor, and Donovan Alexander Watson, a businessman from Durham. Wadsworth came in first place in the primary.
On election day, Troxler won a fifth term as Agriculture Commissioner. He won 53.9% of the statewide vote, a slightly smaller percentage than he received in 2016, when he won 55.6%. Despite this, Troxler still won the largest percentage of the vote of statewide candidate in North Carolina in 2020.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Walter Smith, 2012 and 2016 Democratic nominee
* Jenna Wadsworth, Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor
* Donovan Alexander Watson, businessman

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jenna Wadsworth | 609,910 | 54.0 |
| | Democratic | Walter Smith | 344,111 | 30.5 |
| | Democratic | Donovan Alexander Watson | 175,207 | 15.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,129,228 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Steve Troxler, incumbent Agriculture Commissioner (unopposed in the primary)

### General election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Steve Troxler (R) | Jenna Wadsworth (D) | Undecided |
| Meeting Street Insights (R) | October 24–27, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4% | 50% | 42% | 6% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | October 22–25, 2020 | 504 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 47% | 44% | 9% |
| Harper Polling/Civitas (R) | August 6–10, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 42% | 34% | 24% |

#### Results

North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Steve Troxler (incumbent) | 2,901,849 | 53.86% | −1.60% |
| | Democratic | Jenna Wadsworth | 2,485,722 | 46.14% | +1.60% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,387,571 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Commissioner of Labor

Cherie Berry was first elected to the position of Commissioner of Labor in 2000 and took office as only the second Republican Labor Commissioner in the history of North Carolina. On April 2, 2019, Berry announced that she would not seek re-election, and would retire from politics. Josh Dobson, a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives since 2013, won the Republican primary over Chuck Stanley, a construction safety manager, and former State Rep. Pearl Burris-Floyd. Wake County commissioner Jessica Holmes was the only Democrat to run. Dobson won the general election with 50.8% of the vote.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Jessica Holmes, Wake County commissioner (unopposed in the primary)

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Pearl Burris-Floyd, former state representative
* Josh Dobson, state representative
* Chuck Stanley, construction safety manager

##### Declined

* Cherie Berry, incumbent State Labor Commissioner

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Josh Dobson | 274,379 | 40.3 |
| | Republican | Chuck Stanley | 257,883 | 37.9 |
| | Republican | Pearl Burris-Floyd | 148,710 | 21.8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 680,972 | 100.0 |

### General election

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Josh Dobson (R) | Jessica Holmes (D) | Undecided |
| Meeting Street Insights (R) | October 24–27, 2020 | 600 (LV) | ± 4% | 43% | 47% | 7% |

#### Results

North Carolina Commissioner of Labor election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Josh Dobson | 2,726,619 | 50.83% | −4.36% |
| | Democratic | Jessica Holmes | 2,637,528 | 49.17% | +4.47% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,364,147 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Commissioner of Insurance

Incumbent Commissioner Mike Causey, a Republican, ran for a second term.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Wayne Goodwin, chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party and former State Insurance Commissioner (2009–2017)

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Declared

* Mike Causey, incumbent State Insurance Commissioner
* Ronald Pierce, candidate for North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in 2016

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mike Causey (incumbent) | 448,066 | 64.6 |
| | Republican | Ronald Pierce | 245,851 | 35.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 693,917 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mike Causey (R) | Wayne Goodwin (D) | Undecided |
| Cardinal Point Analytics (R) | July 22–24, 2020 | 735 (LV) | ± 3.6% | 45% | 37% | 8% |
| Cardinal Point Analytics (R) | July 13–15, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 41% | 39% | 20% |

#### Results

North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance election, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Mike Causey (incumbent) | 2,775,488 | 51.76% | +1.36% |
| | Democratic | Wayne Goodwin | 2,586,464 | 48.24% | −1.36% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,361,952 | 100.0% | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Aftermath

The Council of State was sworn in on January 9, 2021.