In the excitement over this historic presidential race, a potentially historic aspect of this election for women in North Carolina was mostly overlooked. There were a total of 14 women running statewide races in North Carolina this year:
Elizabeth Dole (R) vs. Kay Hagan (D) for the US Senate
Bev Perdue (D) for Governor
Janet Cowell (D) for State Treasurer
Beth Wood (D) for State Auditor
June Atkinson (D) for Superintendent of Public Instruction
Cherie Berry (R) vs. Mary Fant Donnan (D) for Labor Commissioner
Elaine Marshall (D) for Secretary of State
Suzanne Reynolds (D*) for State Supreme Court
Cheri Beasley (D*), Jewel Ann Farlow (R*), Kristin Ruth (D*), and Linda Stephens (D*) for State Court of Appeals
*Indicates party endorsement in a nonpartisan race.
And the winners were:
Kay Hagan (D) defeated Elizabeth Dole (R) in the US Senate race
Bev Perdue (D) is our next Governor
Janet Cowell (D) is our next State Treasurer
Beth Wood (D) is our next State Auditor
June Atkinson (D) continues as our Superintendent of Public Instruction
Cherie Berry (R) defeated Mary Fant Donnan (D) for Labor Commissioner
Elaine Marshall (D) continues as our Secretary of State
Cheri Beasley (D*) was elected to the State Court of Appeals
Linda Stephens (D*) kept her seat on the State Court of Appeals
While many media outlets reported the results of these races, they neglected to point out the bigger picture:
Kay Hagan won NC's first two-woman race for a US Senate seat.
Bev Perdue will be NC's first woman governor.
Janet Cowell will be NC's first woman state treasurer.
Beth Wood will be NC's first woman state auditor.
With the election of Cowell, Wood, Atkinson, and Marshall, North Carolina now has its first Council of State with a majority of women officeholders.
With the election of Beasley and Ruth, North Carolina now has its first State Court of Appeals with a majority of women judges.
Except for the legislature, this constitutes the bulk of the North Carolina State Government. An important aspect of this virtual sweep by women candidates is that, to the best of my knowledge, gender was never raised as an issue in any of these races, either in the primaries or the general election. Every single one of these women earned their place on the ballot and won their elections based on their own merits.
The big heartbreaker was Suzanne Reynolds, not only because she lost her race by less than 2% against an incumbent, nor even because she was hugely popular with NC progressives, but also because, had she won, NC would also have its first State Supreme Court with a majority of women justices. Ah, well, next time. In the meantime...
Welcome to the Great Matriarchy of North Carolina.