1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election

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1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election
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  Elaine Marshall IACA 2018 (cropped).jpg Richard Petty - NASCAR Photography by Darryl Moran 93 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Elaine Marshall Richard Petty
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote1,333,9941,126,701
Percentage53.48%45.17%
1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election results map by county.svg
County results
Marshall:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Petty:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Secretary of State before election

Rufus Edmisten
Democratic

Elected Secretary of State

Elaine Marshall
Democratic

The 1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election was held on November 5, concurrently with that year's U.S. presidential election, as well as elections for Governor, U.S. Senator, and Council of State. Attorney and former Democratic State Senator Elaine Marshall ran for the open Secretary of State position against stock car racer and former Randolph County commissioner known as "The King," Richard Petty.

Contents

Background

Proceeding the election, State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. discovered that Secretary of State Rufus Edmisten had allegedly engaged in "unacceptable behavior". The Auditor's 132-page report describing Edmisten's illegal procurement of a job for his friend, Rosemary McBryde, as well as his use of state employees for personal work, and circumvention of speeding laws with an undercover license plate, was sent to Attorney General Michael F. Easley. Secretary of State Edmisten resigned from his post effective March 31st, 1996, seeking opportunities in the fields of law and business. In a press release, Edmisten stated, "I am satisfied that we have proved worthy of the public trust. Of course, my competent and hard-working staff deserves the credit." [1] This created an opportunity for North Carolina Republicans, who had not won a Secretary of State election since 1896. [2]

North Carolina is considered to be the birthplace of NASCAR, and the state is still home to most race teams and drivers. [3] Richard Petty, nicknamed "The King" for his success in the sport, is the only driver who can claim 200 NASCAR Cup Series race wins and 7 Cup Championships. [4] Not a complete political outsider, Petty had been County Commissioner in Randolph County for 16 years. Prior to Edmisten's resignation, Petty had been preparing to run against the incumbent Secretary of State, whom the press noted was also a NASCAR-loving "good ol' boy" with a similar political base to Petty. No Republican primary for Secretary of State was held, as "The King" ran uncontested for that party's nomination. [5] Other Republicans on the ballot hoped to ride his coattails, such as future Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who said “I need to draw the Democrat vote, and I know he can do that.” [6]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

Eliminated in primary

Results

Results by county: Marshall .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Marshall-70-80% Marshall-60-70% Marshall-50-60% Marshall-40-50% Marshall-30-40% Marshall-<30% Lee Lee-50-60% Lee-40-50% Lee-30-40% Lee-<30% Pollard Pollard-30-40% Pollard-<30% Kramer Kramer-<30% Langston Langston-<30% Hurst Hurst-<30% Tie Marshall & Kramer Tied 1996 North Carolina Secretary of State Democratic primary election results map by county.svg
Results by county:
Marshall
  •   Marshall-70-80%
      Marshall-60-70%
      Marshall-50-60%
      Marshall-40-50%
      Marshall-30-40%
      Marshall-<30%
Lee
  •   Lee-50-60%
      Lee-40-50%
      Lee-30-40%
      Lee-<30%
Pollard
  •   Pollard-30-40%
      Pollard-<30%
Kramer
  •   Kramer-<30%
Langston
  •   Langston-<30%
Hurst
  •   Hurst-<30%
Tie
  •   Marshall & Kramer Tied
Democratic primary results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Elaine Marshall 130,52027.13%
Democratic Valeria Lynch Lee 98,58120.49%
Democratic Brenda Pollard83,33217.32%
Democratic Howard Kramer70,00014.55%
Democratic Joyce Hill-Langston67,58314.05%
Democratic Mort Hurst31,1436.47%
Total votes481,159 100.0%

General election

Campaign

Petty's campaign strategy mostly consisted of travelling across the state to connect with his many fans, signing autographs and asking for their votes. When his campaign bus rolled through rural North Carolina, stunned citizens like Connie Perry of Bunn reacted, "Nothing ever happens around here. That's the highlight of our life. Of course, I'm going to vote for him." Perry's coworker at the Silver Spring Grill, Rhonda Cox, "about squeezed his neck to death." [6]

Elaine Marshall attacked Petty for refusing to put his racing businesses in a blind trust and for his comments about continuing to appear in commercials for Pepsi and STP as well as continuing to race stock cars if he won. Richard Petty took pride in his ethical fundraising practices, saying "the only people I’m going to owe anything to is the people who vote for me. I don’t want to owe anyone nothing." He was reported as telling his campaign manager, Bill Colby, "don’t promise anybody nothing and don’t take any money from anybody who wants something." [6]

Hit-and-run incident

On September 11, 1996, on his way home from Charlotte Motor Speedway, Richard Petty was brake-checked while tailgating another driver. The incident resulted in a damaged bumper and a $25 ticket, which was later raised to a $65 fine and license penalty for "following too close." Richard Petty said that "the Democrats have nothing to criticize me for except the dumb things I do to myself," and attacked the "Democrat-controlled state police" for making him "a political victim." [6] The press reported on the incident as both a high-profile celebrity scandal and a question of Petty's readiness to serve in a statewide executive office. [9] The event had an impact on some voters, as one woman interviewed by the Greensboro News & Record said, "how could he have any feeling for you and me when he hit-and-runs somebody?" [10]

Results

Results by county Marshall: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Petty: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 1996 North Carolina Secretary of State election results map by county.svg
Results by county
Marshall:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Petty:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
General election results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Elaine Marshall 1,333,99453.48
Republican Richard Petty 1,126,70145.17
Libertarian Lewis Guignard20,7340.83
Natural Law Stephen Richter12,8960.52
Turnout 2,494,325

Aftermath

Elaine Marshall

The first woman elected to a statewide executive office in North Carolina, Elaine Marshall has prioritized making it easier to do business in the state. [12] Marshall was re-elected as Secretary of State of North Carolina in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Mike Causey's plan to win Democrat votes with the help of Petty was a failure, as Democrats won every Council of State election in 1996, but Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms won re-election on the same ballot by a wide margin. [6] He was the first of many North Carolina Republicans that Marshall has won statewide elections alongside.

Richard Petty

Following his landslide defeat, Richard Petty said "if I knew I was going to lose, I wouldn'ta run." [13] He expressed frustration with the political world, saying "don't talk politics today... it'll be a couple years before I think about anything in politics again." He acknowledged the "bump" in traffic did not help his campaign and pinned the loss on his reputation, saying "people see me as Richard Petty, race-car driver, not as Richard Petty, politician." He pointed out that even in politics "we Pettys aren't complete losers" as his wife Lynda had won re-election to the Randolph County Board of Education. [10] Petty has been criticized by some for electoral overconfidence, relying on his name recognition, and failing to make a coherent argument for why he should be the Secretary of State. [14] Additionally, Petty himself pointed out that the traffic incident so close to the election may have reinforced the perception of him as a race car driver, not a steady-handed politician. [10]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Secretary of State Edmisten Will Resign". WRAL News. March 11, 1996. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  2. ↑ Lanzone, Maya (February 28, 2024). "Nascar Icon Richard Petty's Failed State Campaign & Iconic Quote After Defeat as Candidates Still Seek His Endorsement". The U.S. Sun. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ↑ Opong, Rich. "4 Reasons Why NASCAR Drivers Live In North Carolina". Flow Racers. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Gastelu, Gary. "Richard Petty Explains How He Became 'The King'". American Cars and Racing. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "You Can Look, But You Won't Find Richard Petty On Primary Ballot". Hickory Daily Record. May 4, 1996. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 McKee, Sandra (October 10, 1996). "Petty Running a Different Race: The Longtime Stock Car King is On the Road Again, This Time Campaigning for State Office in North Carolina" . Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 N.C. Secretary of State (May 5, 1996). "North Carolina Secretary of State, The Democrats". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "North Carolina Manual 1997-1998". North Carolina Secretary of State. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Ahearn, Lorraine (September 18, 1996). "Richard Petty Faces Hit-and-Run Charge". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 McKay, Rich (November 6, 1996). "Election Loss Turns Petty Off of Politics". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Secretary of State". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 26 November 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Marshall, Elaine. "Elaine Marshall" . Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  13. ↑ Berkow, Ira (December 6, 1996). "The King Recovers From Defeat". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  14. ↑ Cunningham, Eric. "How Richard Petty Blew a State Election in North Carolina". Elections Daily. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
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