2012 North Carolina Council of State election

The North Carolina Council of State elections of 2012 were held November 6, 2012 to select the nine officers of the North Carolina Council of State. This election coincided with the U.S. presidential election, U.S. House elections, the gubernatorial election and the statewide judicial elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012; for races in which no candidate received 40 percent of the vote in the primary, runoff elections (officially known as "second" primaries) were held on July 17.

The nine members of the North Carolina Council of State are statewide-elected officers serving four-year terms. In the 2012 elections, all incumbents who ran for new terms were re-elected, while the Lieutenant Governor's seat was open following incumbent Walter Dalton's decision to run for governor. The partisan makeup of the Council of State changed from 7 Democrats (8 including the governor) and 2 Republicans before the election to 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans (4 including the governor) afterward.

Governor
Republican Pat McCrory was elected governor.

Lieutenant governor
Republican Dan Forest was elected lieutenant governor.

Attorney general
Roy Cooper, the Democratic incumbent attorney general, ran for re-election unopposed.

Democratic primary

 * Elaine Marshall, the Democratic incumbent Secretary of State, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

 * Michael Beitler, business professor; Libertarian nominee for US Senator in 2010 (changed his registration to Republican to run for secretary of state)
 * A.J. Daoud, business owner
 * Kenn Gardner, former Wake County commissioner
 * Ed Goodwin, Chowan County commissioner, retired Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent

Primary results
As no candidate received 40 percent of the vote, state law allows the runner-up to request a second primary (or "runoff"). Gardner requested a runoff.

Democratic primary

 * Beth A. Wood, the Democratic incumbent State Auditor, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

 * Joseph Hank DeBragga, auditor for North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
 * Greg Dority, three-time congressional candidate, Beaufort County Republican Party chairman
 * Debra Goldman, Wake County School Board member
 * Fern Shubert, former state senator, former state representative, certified public accountant
 * Rudy Wright, Mayor of Hickory, former certified public accountant

Primary results
As the runner-up, Dority chose not to request a runoff, making Goldman the nominee.

Democratic primary

 * Janet Cowell, the Democratic incumbent State Treasurer, ran for re-election.
 * Ron Elmer, investment consultant

Republican primary

 * Frank Roche, talk radio host
 * Steve Royal, certified public accountant

Democratic primary

 * June Atkinson, the Democratic incumbent Superintendent, ran for re-election.


 * Withdrawn Candidates
 * Rick Glazier, state representative

Republican primary

 * Richard Alexander, South Carolina teacher and former small business owner
 * Mark Crawford, former state representative
 * Ray Martin, teacher
 * David Scholl, businessman and Union County School Board member
 * John Tedesco, Wake County School Board member

Primary results
As the runner-up, Alexander requested a runoff.

Republican primary

 * Bill McManus, real estate investor, former attorney and accountant, former Democratic member of Massachusetts House of Representatives
 * Steve Troxler, the Republican incumbent Commissioner, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

 * Scott Bryant, farmer and former law enforcement officer
 * Walter Smith, farmer, former USDA official, former mayor of Boonville

Republican primary

 * Cherie Berry, the Republican incumbent Commissioner, ran for re-election.

Democratic primary

 * John C. Brooks, former Commissioner of Labor
 * Marlowe Foster, public affairs director for Pfizer (registered lobbyist), former Winston-Salem State University official
 * Ty Richardson, 2008 candidate

Primary results
As the runner-up, Foster requested a runoff.

Democratic primary

 * Wayne Goodwin, the Democratic incumbent Commissioner, ran for re-election.

Republican primary

 * Mike Causey, former lobbyist
 * James McCall, insurance agent
 * Richard T. Morgan, former state representative

Primary results
As the runner-up, Causey requested a runoff. Of all the statewide runoffs held on July 17, the Republican primary for Insurance Commissioner was the only one in which the top vote-getter changed from the first to the second primary.