Election night brought with it sweeping changes to North Carolina state government, chief among them the Council of State.

The Council of State is composed of 10 elected officials and is part of the executive branch of North Carolina’s state government.

Those 10 officials include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor, and commissioner of insurance.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein successfully defeated Republican Mark Robinson in a race and election that has been largely covered but what about the other races?

For the position as the second-ranking executive in the Tar Heel State, Democrat Rachel Hunt defeated Republican Hal Weatherman. Hunt received 2,741,085 votes or 49.45 percent of the electorate. Meanwhile, Weatherman captured 47.74 percent of the vote with a tally of 2,645,851. Libertarian candidate Shannon W. Bray won less than 2 percent of the vote with 102,596 North Carolinians casting their ballots for the third party. Constitution Party candidate Wayne Jones got about half of Bray’s total with 53,100 votes. 

Per reporting from NC Newsline’s Christine Zhu, “Hunt has represented Mecklenburg County in the North Carolina Senate since 2023. Before that, she served two terms in the North Carolina House, where she was first elected in 2018.

“During her time at the state legislature, Hunt has supported bills expanding healthcare affordability, defending reproductive rights, and protecting the environment, among other issues.

“Hunt is a political legacy in the Tar Heel state. She’s the daughter of former Gov. Jim Hunt, who holds the record as the longest-serving governor in North Carolina history over 16 non-consecutive years.”

In the North Carolina Attorney General race, Democrat Jeff Jackson defeated former U.S. Representative Dan Bishop by a nearly 150,000 vote margin. Jackson earned 51.34 percent of the vote to Bishop’s 48.66 percent. 

In his victory speech, Jackson said that seeing the returns come in and the support coming in from across the state was overwhelming.

“To everyone who voted for us in this election, it meant the world to me,” Jackson said. “To every person in this state, whether you voted for me or not, it will be an incredible honor to serve as your next attorney general and I will give this job everything that I got.”

In the NC Auditor race, Republican Dave Boliek defeated Democratic incumbent Jessica Holmes by 105,000 votes. Boliek’s tally equaled 49.45 percent of the electorate to Holmes’ 47.54 percent. Libertarian Bob Drach brought up the rear with 165,317 votes or 3.01 percent.

According to the department’s website, the Office of State Auditor “performs impactful audits and investigations. We make recommendations that result in meaningful change to improve government services, identify wasteful spending, and ensure programs such as health, education and economic growth are delivering what they should.”

In the race for N.C. Agriculture Commissioner, Republican incumbent Steve Troxler defeated a challenge from Democrat Sarah Taber. Troxler’s 2,903,177 votes represented 52.71 percent of the statewide vote. Meanwhile, Taber’s 2,471,154 votes represented 44.87 percent of the electorate. 

In the race for N.C. Insurance Commissioner, the incumbent, Republican Mike Causey also won with more than 52 percent of the vote. His 2,864,675 bested Democrat challenger Natasha Marcus’s 2,622,307 vote tally. In a statement released after the victory, Causey said, “I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all my campaign supporters, volunteers, and workers across all 100 counties. We have made history by winning a third term as the state’s first Republican commissioner of insurance.

“I am humbled by the hard work and dedication of hundreds of people working on my behalf across North Carolina.”

In the statement, Causey said he wanted to extend his recognition and respect to Sen. Natasha Marcus and the campaign she ran. 

“I have run and lost campaigns and I know how it feels,” Causey said. “So, to Senator Marcus I want to thank her for her public service and her leadership for her constituency.”

Shifting gears to his term, Causey said, “Folks, we have a great deal of work to be done. During the next four years, I want to work on a number of priorities including: Hurricane Helene recovery plus starting a State Flood Insurance Plan; working with the General Assembly to curb distracted driving and add more state troopers for road safety enforcement; improving the Consumer Hotline to address patient concerns about prior authorizations; and addressing Emergency Management and Preparedness with the Office of State Fire Marshal.

“I look forward to a third term and remain committed to serving the needs of the people of North Carolina.”

The N.C. Labor Commissioner race was won by Republican Luke Farley who defeated Democrat Braxton Winston II by more than five points. Farley received 2,884,380 votes to Winston’s 2,575,070 votes. 

North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, a Democrat, successfully fended off Republican challenger Chad Brown in a race that came down to 105,000 votes. Marshall’s 2,809,834 votes represented 50.96 percent of the electorate. Marshall has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. She was the first woman to be elected to statewide office in North Carolina.

In a widely publicized race, former Guilford County School Superintendent Mo Green defeated Michele Morrow in the N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction race. Green, a Democrat, earned 2,809,546 votes or 51.10 percent to Morrow’s 2,688,431 votes (48.9 percent). 

Lastly, the N.C. Treasurer race between Republican Brad Briner and Democrat Wesley Harris went Briner’s way. Briner received 2,880,030 votes (52.52 percent) to Harris’ 2,603,148 (47.48 percent).