North Carolina Council of State election, 1996

The North Carolina Council of State election of 1996 was held on 5 November 1996, to elect the Council of State. On the same day, North Carolina held elections for Governor and for Lieutenant Governor, who also formally sit in the Council of State.

All the races were won by Democrats, as were the posts of Governor and Lieutenant Governor. All were incumbents except for Elaine Marshall, who won the post of Secretary of State, and Michael E. Ward, who was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction. Both Marshall and Ward succeeded fellow Democrats.

Results by office

Attorney General

1996 North Carolina Attorney General election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Mike Easley (incumbent)	1,453,196	59.07
	Republican	Robert H. Edmunds, Jr.	1,007,027	40.93
Turnout			2,460,223

State Auditor

1996 North Carolina State Auditor election^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Ralph Campbell (incumbent)	1,184,665	49.92
	Republican	Jack Daly	1,129,050	47.58
	Libertarian	Robert Dorsey	40,835	1.72
	Natural Law	Theodore Janowski	18,643	0.79
Turnout			2,373,193

Commissioner of Agriculture

1996 North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture election^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	James A. Graham (incumbent)	1,409,801	57.80
	Republican	Tom Davidson	980,224	40.18
	Natural Law	R. Gaines Steer	25,052	1.03
	Libertarian	Eugene Paczelt	24,217	0.99
Turnout			2,439,294

Commissioner of Insurance

1996 North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance election^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	James E. Long (incumbent)	1,388,894	56.74
	Republican	Mike Causey	1,010,782	40.93
	Libertarian	Sean Haugh	26,258	1.07
	Natural Law	Stephen Wolfe	21,939	0.90
Turnout			2,447,873

Commissioner of Labor

1996 North Carolina Commissioner of Labor election^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Harry E. Payne, Jr. (incumbent)	1,212,057	50.98
	Republican	Tracy Walker	1,082,537	45.53
	Natural Law	Mary Ann Cooke	58,342	2.45
	Libertarian	Seth Fehrs	24,574	1.03
Turnout			2,377,510

Secretary of State

1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall	1,333,994	53.48
	Republican	Richard Petty	1,126,701	45.17
	Libertarian	Stephen Richter	20,734	0.83
	Natural Law	Lewis Guignard	12,896	0.52
Turnout			2,494,325

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1996 North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Michael E. Ward	1,243,423	52.00
	Republican	Vernon Robinson	1,103,288	46.14
	Libertarian	Chris Spruyt	26,431	1.11
	Natural Law	Starr Von Stade	18,036	0.75
Turnout			2,391,178

State Treasurer

1996 North Carolina State Treasurer election^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Harlan E. Boyles (incumbent)	1,219,594	50.62
	Republican	Ann Duncan	1,144,749	47.52
	Libertarian	Lewis Hunter	31,492	1.31
	Natural Law	Peter Lyda	13,251	0.55
Turnout			2,409,086

Footnotes

1. "Attorney General". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
2. "State Auditor". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
3. "Commissioner of Agriculture". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
4. "Commissioner of Insurance". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
5. "Commissioner of Labor". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
6. "Secretary of State". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
7. "Superintendent of Public Instruction". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
8. "State Treasurer". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 7 January 2010.