Elaine Marshall

Elaine Marshall
North Carolina Secretary of State
Incumbent
In office
1996 - Present
Term ends
2017
Years in position	17
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Janice Faulkner
Compensation
Base salary	$123,198
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	1996
Next election	November 8, 2016
Campaign $	$1,990,034
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
North Carolina State Senate
1993-1996
Education
Bachelor's	University of Maryland
J.D.	Campbell University School of Law
Personal
Birthday	November 18, 1945
Place of birth	Lineboro, Maryland
Profession	Lawyer, teacher
Religion	Methodist
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Elaine F. Marshall (born November 18, 1945 in Lineboro, Maryland) is the current Democratic Secretary of State of North Carolina. First elected to the position in 1996, she is the first woman to be elected North Carolina secretary of state and the first woman elected to statewide executive office in North Carolina.

Marshall won a fifth term in office in 2012. She defeated Chowan County Board of Commissioners Chairman Ed Goodwin (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Biography

Marshall was born and raised in Maryland. She attended the University of Maryland for her undergraduate education, receiving a B.S. in Home Economics in 1968. She spent the following year teaching in the Lenoir County School System. She juggled three jobs in the 1970s running a book and gift store (1969-74), teaching at the Lenoir Community College and Johnston Tech Community College (1970-7), and simultaneously served as the owner and decorator of the Custom House (1975-9).

The future secretary of state began her involvement in politics during this period. She was named National Committee Woman for the Young Democrats of North Carolina organization in 1974. She remained in that role until 1977, when she became National Secretary for the Young Democrats of America.

Marshall earned her J.D. in 1981 from Campbell University School of Law, where she later became an adjunct faculty member for the Trial Advocacy Program (from 1982 to 1984). She launched her legal career immediately upon graduation, taking a job in Harnett County as an associate for the office of Edgar R. Bain. She practiced law there for three years while also building political momentum as the president of the Democratic Women's Committee. She served as President for four years, and then as the county’s Democratic Party Chairwoman, beginning in 1991.

Marshall has served as a partner for two law firms – Bain & Marshall from 1985 to 1992 and Marshall & Marshall from 1993 to 1997.

Education

• Bachelor's degree, University of Maryland (1968) in textiles and clothing
• Juris Doctorate degree, Campbell University School of Law (1981)
• Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Campbell University, Lees-McRae College and Meredith College.

Political career

Secretary of State (1996-present)

Issues

• Global Warming

On the controversial issue of climate change, Marshall refused to comment on the new legislative bill being introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) that would reduce carbon emissions up to twenty percent in the next forty years. She cautioned members of Congress not to take drastic action until all of the facts are in:

“

Climate change was something to which the government should pay attention, but it might be too early to take large steps. We have got to have good sound science before we start spending money.

”

North Carolina State Senate (1993-1996)

In 1993, Marshall was elected to serve the people of the 15th Congressional District in the North Carolina State Senate.

Elections

2012

See also: North Carolina secretary of state election, 2012

Marshall ran unopposed in the Democratic primary contest. She successfully defended her seat against Chairman of the Chowan County Board of Commissioners Ed Goodwin (R) in the November 6th general election.

North Carolina Secretary of State General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall Incumbent	53.8%	2,331,173
	Republican	Ed Goodwin	46.2%	2,003,026
Total Votes				4,334,199
Election Results via NC State Board of Elections.

Issues

• Economy

Marshall's campaign focused heavily on fostering job growth and a friendlier, more open climate for investors and oft-exploited groups such as the elderly in the state of North Carolina. In service of the statewide push to crack down on business identity theft through closer monitoring and greater transparency of information, Marshall initiated the office's creation of an online database for enabling potential investors to personally vet state enterprises. She boasts the office's successful restoring of "$1 billion to North Carolina investors since 2009 and shutting down of operations selling about $11 million in counterfeit goods" in the last year. She referred to the latter fight, against counterfeit of trademark goods, as her "personal mission."

Endorsements

• Equality NC Action Fund
• Charlotte Observer

2010

United States Senate
Elections, 2010
Primary election dates, 2010

Marshall first ran for the United States Senate in 2002. She was defeated in the Democratic primary by Erskine Bowles, White House Chief of Staff for President Bill Clinton. In September 2009, she filed paperwork to make what would become her second unsuccessful bid for a congressional office, this time challenging Republican incumbent Richard Burr for his Senate seat. Despite the longtime North Carolina Secretary of State competing against three other challengers, including former State Senator Cal Cunningham and attorney Ken Lewis, for the Democratic nomination in the primary contest on May 4, 2010, she held a substantial lead over her opponents six months prior to the primary election date.

Another survey conducted around that same time showed Burr leading Marshall by eight percentage points in a head-to-head matchup. No incumbent has won re-election to North Carolina's Classe 3 Senate seat since 1968. Further polling data, provided by Survey USA, demonstrated that, in spite of Marshall securing the Democratic nomination, the wind was clearly at Burr's back: Out of 1,100 likely voters interviewed, fifty percent said they supported Burr with forty percent siding with Marshall, and only five percent suggested that they remained undecided in the race.

Even though Elaine Marshall received the most votes, she failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by North Carolina state law. A run-off election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.

United States Senate, Democratic Primary, 2010
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elaine Marshall	36.3%	154,605
Cal Cunningham	27.2%	115,851
Ken Lewis	17%	72,510
Marcus W. Williams	8.5%	35,984
Susan Harris	7%	29,738
Ann Worthy	3.9%	16,655
Total Votes		425,343

United States Senate, Democratic Primary Runoff, 2010
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elaine Marshall	60%	95,390
Cal Cunningham	40%	63,691
Total Votes		159,081

United States Senate, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall	43%	1,145,074
	Republican	Richard Burr	54.8%	1,458,046
	Libertarian	Michael Beitler	2.1%	55,687
	Write-In	Various	0%	1,272
Total Votes				2,660,079

2008

• 2008 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
  • Elaine Marshall ran unopposed in this contest

North Carolina Secretary of State, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine F. Marshall Incumbent	56.8%	2,316,903
	Republican	Jack Sawyer	43.2%	1,762,928
Total Votes				4,079,831
Election Results Via: North Carolina State Board of Elections

2004

North Carolina Secretary of State, Democratic Primary, 2004
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elaine F. Marshall Incumbent	80.6%	327,848
Doris A. Sanders	19.4%	78,953
Total Votes		406,801
Election Results Via: North Carolina State Board of Elections

North Carolina Secretary of State, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine F. Marshall Incumbent	57.3%	1,911,585
	Republican	Jay Rao	42.7%	1,423,109
Total Votes				3,334,694
Election Results Via: North Carolina State Board of Elections

2000

• 2000 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
  • Elaine Marshall ran unopposed in this contest

North Carolina Secretary of State, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall Incumbent	54.4%	1,512,076
	Republican	Harris Durham Blake	45.6%	1,265,654
Total Votes				2,777,730
Election Results Via: North Carolina State Board of Elections

1996

North Carolina Secretary of State, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Elaine Marshall	53.5%	1,333,994
	Republican	Richard Petty	45.2%	1,126,701
	Libertarian	Lewis B. Guignard	0.8%	20,734
	NL	Stephen Richter	0.5%	12,896
Total Votes				2,494,325
Election Results Via: North Carolina State Board of Elections

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Marshall is available dating back to 1996. Based on available campaign finance records, Marshall raised a total of $1,990,034 during that time period. This information was last updated on May 20, 2013.

Elaine Marshall's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	NC Secretary of State		$687,284
2010	NC Secretary of State		$1,596
2008	NC Secretary of State		$228,039
2006	NC Secretary of State		$8,296
2004	NC Secretary of State		$353,134
2000	NC Secretary of State		$365,124
1996	NC Secretary of State		$346,561
Grand Total Raised			$1,990,034

2012

Marshall won re-election to the position of North Carolina Secretary of State in 2012. During that election cycle, Marshall raised a total of $687,284.

North Carolina Secretary of State 2012 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Elaine Marshall's campaign in 2012
North Carolina Democratic Party	$197,308
Robert L. Page	$8,000
North Carolina Advocates for Justice	$5,000
Lillian's List of North Carolina	$5,000
North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina Victory Non Federal	$5,000
Total Raised in 2012	$687,284
Source:Follow the Money

1996-2008

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Elaine Marshall's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Elaine Marshall's Campaign Contributions
	2008 North Carolina Secretary of State		2004 North Carolina Secretary of State		2000 North Carolina Secretary of State		1996 North Carolina Secretary of State
Total Raised	$228,039		$353,134		$365,124		$346,561
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$20,056		$68,340		$33,453		$660,709
Top 5 contributors	North Carolina Advocates for Justice	$6,000	North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers	$8,000	Dewey Houston	$5,000	Sol Marshall	$108,370
	State Employees Association of North Carolina	$4,000	Rodney Maddox	$5,011	George McClotter	$4,500	Elaine Marshall	$57,500
	North Carolina Association of Educators	$2,000	North Carolina Association of Educators	$4,500	Alvin Curry and Rachael Stokes	$4,000 each	Donald Folk	$6,000
	North Carolina Farm Bureau	$2,000	William Hofford	$4,000	North Carolina Association of Educators	$3,750	Dewey Houston	{{{fourth donor4 amount}}}
	13 individual donors	$2,000 each	Susan Safran and Howard Twiggs	$3,000 each	Wade Byrd	$2,750	George McCotter	$2,000
Individuals	$193,678		$309,043		$229,526		$78,791
Institutions	$21,600		$34,750		$24,453		$16,632
In-state donations	$226,018		$347,309		$351,724		$335,843
Out-of-state donations	$1,850		$5,630		$11,650		$900

Personal

Elaine Marshall currently resides in Harnett County, North Carolina. She has been married twice - first to Solomon Marshall and then to Bill Holdford; both died as a result of cancer. She has no biological children, but has five stepchildren and seven grandchildren. She is a practicing Methodist, belonging to the Divine Street Methodist Church located in Dunn, North Carolina.

Awards:

Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina 4-H Club Distinguished Attorney Award from the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys Common Cause North Carolina Leadership in Government Award Women’s Equality Award from the North Carolina Association of Educators Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Business (2005) from the Triangle Business Journal March Fong Eu Achievement Award (2006) from the National Notary Association Eta State Founders Award (2007) from the Delta Kappa Gamma Society Distinguished Service as a State Government Official Award (2007) from the United States Chamber of Commerce

Other roles

Member, North Carolina College of Advocacy (1981-present) Vice President, Campbell University School of Law Alumni Association (1985-1986) Board of Directors, Harnett County United Way (1987-1996) President, Harnett County Bar Association (1988-1989) Board of Directors, North Carolina 4-H Development Fund, Incorporated (1990-1998) Chair, Harnett County Democratic Party (1991-1992) North Carolina Courts Commission, Juvenile Code Study Commission (1993-1995) Board of Directors, North Carolina Justice Academy Foundation (1994-present) Board of Directors, North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (1994-present) Board of Directors, North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership (1997-present) Chair, Electronic Commerce Work Group (1997-present) Board of Directors, National Association of Secretaries of State (1998-present) Board of Trustees, Meredith College, (1998-present) Board of Directors, National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council (2000-present) Chair, National Secretaries of State Standing Committee on Business Services & Licensing (2004) Member, American Academy of Trial Lawyers Member, American Bar Association Member, Delta Theta Phi Legal Fraternity Board of Directors, Latin American Resource Center Board of Directors, North Carolina 4-H Development Fund, Incorporated Governor/Member, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers Member, North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys Member, North Carolina Bar Association Member, North Carolina Local Government Commission Member, North Carolina State Bar

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Elaine + Marshall + North + Carolina + Secretary"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Elaine Marshall News Feed

• A sad warning from N.C. Secretary of State - Triangle Business Journal (blog)
• Charity Scam Warnings - WNCT
• Democrats Energized At 2013 Awards Dinner ? Brevard NC - The Transylvania Times
• Man accused of stealing $624000 from Walmart in Carolinas and Georgia - Charlotte Observer
• Owner of Investment Firm Charged with Securities Fraud for Orchestrating $4.7 ... - Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release)
• Hiding Behind The Regulations For Nonprofits - Southern Pines Pilot
• Dome: Elaine Marshall says GOP's branding is embarrassment - News & Observer
• Goodwin tapped for post by McCrory - Greenville Daily Reflector
• Nine More Members Of Racketeering Enterprise Indicted On Investment Fraud ... - Mortgage Daily
• Raleigh's Rex Hospital holds dress rehearsal for bomb attack - News & Observer

Contact Information

Capitol Address:

NC Secretary of State
Post Office Box 29622
Raleigh NC 27626-0622

Phone: (919) 807-2005
Fax: (919) 807-2039
E-mail: gjeter@mail.secstate.state.nc.us

See also

• Secretary of State
• North Carolina Secretary of State
• Governor of North Carolina
• Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
• Attorney General of North Carolina
• North Carolina secretary of state election, 2012

External links

Suggest a link

• Official North Carolina Secretary of State website
• Elaine Marshall's Facebook profile
• Elaine Marshall's Twitter account
• Elaine Marshall for U.S. Senate Campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Elaine Marshall biography
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2000, 1996

References

Political offices
Preceded by Janice Faulkner	North Carolina Secretary of State 1996–present	Succeeded by NA