Elaine Marshall

Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide office in North Carolina. Marshall was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate seat currently held by Republican Richard Burr[1] in the 2010 election, which she lost.[2] In 2016, Marshall was re-elected to a sixth term as North Carolina Secretary of State with 52.26 percent of the vote, earning more votes (and a higher share of the vote) than any other Democrat running statewide.[3]

Elaine Marshall
23rd North Carolina Secretary of State
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997
Governor	Jim Hunt Mike Easley Bev Perdue Pat McCrory Roy Cooper
Preceded by	Janice Faulkner
Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 15th district
In office 1992–1996
Preceded by	William W. Staton
Succeeded by	Dan Page
Personal details
Born	November 18, 1945 Lineboro, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Maryland, College Park (BS) Campbell University (JD)
Website	Secretary of State website Campaign website

Early life, education and career

Marshall was born on November 18, 1945, in Lineboro, Maryland.[4] Her father was a farmer who, for many years, served as a volunteer fire fighter and community leader, and her mother was the organist in the family’s small rural church for more than 60 years. She attended public schools as a child and became the first person in her family to graduate college. She studied textiles at the University of Maryland from 1964 to 1968, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles and Clothing.[4] While at Maryland, she became a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. During her undergraduate years, she spent her summers working as a camping director for the Maryland 4-H Foundation, an organization she has continued to support.[5]

After graduation, Marshall taught in the public schools of Lenoir County, North Carolina, and then ran a book and gift store. She later returned to the field of education as an instructor at Lenoir Community College and Johnston Technical Community College.[5][6]

Marshall returned to school to study law at the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University and earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1981,[4] where she was accepted into the Who's Who Among American Universities and Colleges honors program. She has been admitted to practice before all North Carolina courts, the U.S. District courts in the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the NC State Bar, the NC Bar Association, the NC Association of Women Attorneys, and the Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity. She also holds multiple honorary degrees from Campbell University, Meredith College, Lees–McRae College and Testemitanu State University.[5][7] She was a partner in Lillington, North Carolina law firms Bain & Marshall (1985–1992) and Marshall & Marshall (1993–1997).[5][6]

Political career

Marshall has been active in Democratic politics in North Carolina for over 30 years.[8] From the early 1970s, she was active in the Young Democrats organization and eventually became National Secretary of the Young Democrats of America. In Harnett County, where she practiced law, Marshall served in 1983–1987 as President of Democratic Women and in 1991–1992 served as chair of the Harnett County Democratic Party.[5]

State Senator

Marshall was first elected to public office in 1992 as a member of the North Carolina Senate representing the 15th Senate District, serving from 1993 to 1994.[6]

Secretary of State

In 1996, she ran for the post of North Carolina Secretary of State against Republican challenger and former stock car racer Richard Petty. She won the election by a margin of 53% to 45%,[9] becoming the first woman elected to a statewide executive office in North Carolina history.[10][7] Marshall has won re-election six times and in 2008 received the second highest vote total of any candidate in the state.[11][12] Elaine Marshall is only the third elected Secretary of State of North Carolina since 1936, as office-holders have commonly been re-elected many times. Marshall has been credited with bringing the office into the technological age by introducing e-commerce and providing online registration for lobbyists and businesses. Marshall's work has been recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Notary Association and Campbell University. In 2007, Marshall served as president of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, "an organization of public and private sector leaders aimed at identifying best technology practices that make government agencies more efficient and modernize their services".[13]

2002 U.S. Senate campaign

In 2002, Marshall ran for United States Senate in the race to replace retiring Sen. Jesse Helms. However, she was defeated in the Democratic primary by Erskine Bowles, who served as White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton.[4][14]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In 2009, Marshall decided to enter the 2010 Senate race against incumbent Republican Richard Burr.[15] She faced Cal Cunningham, Ken Lewis, and other lesser-known candidates in the May 2010 primary, and won the endorsement of the Charlotte Observer.[16] After failing to garner above 40% of the vote in the May 4 primary election, Marshall had to face Cunningham in a runoff in June.[17]

On June 22, 2010, Marshall defeated Cunningham (with approximately 60 percent of the vote) to secure the Democratic nomination.[18] For the general election, she was again endorsed by the Charlotte Observer, the state's largest newspaper.[19] On election day Marshall lost to incumbent Richard Burr, who had received 55% of the vote.[2]

Electoral history

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 1996
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall	1,333,994	53.48
Republican	Richard Petty	1,126,701	45.17
Libertarian	Lewis Guignard	20,734	0.83
Natural Law	Stephen Richter	12,896	0.52

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	1,512,076	54.44
Republican	Harris Durham Blake	1,265,654	45.56

North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Election, 2002
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Erskine Bowles	277,329	43.40
Democratic	Dan Blue	184,216	28.83
Democratic	Elaine Marshall	97,392	15.24
Democratic	Cynthia Brown	27,799	4.35
Democratic	Albert Lee Wiley Jr.	12,725	1.99
Democratic	Bob Ayers	12,326	1.93
Democratic	David Tidwell	10,510	1.64
Democratic	Duke Underwood	9,940	1.56
Democratic	Randy Crow	6,788	1.06

North Carolina Secretary of State Democratic Primary Election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	327,848	80.59
Democratic	Doris Sanders	78,953	19.41

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	1,911,585	57.32
Republican	Jay Rao	1,423,109	42.68

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	2,316,903	56.79
Republican	Jack Sawyer	1,762,928	43.21

North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall	154,605	36.35
Democratic	Cal Cunningham	115,851	27.24
Democratic	Ken Lewis	72,510	17.05
Democratic	Marcus Williams	35,984	8.46
Democratic	Susan Harris	29,738	6.99
Democratic	Ann Worthy	16,655	3.92

North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Runoff Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall	95,390	59.96
Democratic	Cal Cunningham	63,691	40.04

North Carolina U.S. Senate Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Richard Burr (inc.)	1,458,046	54.81
Democratic	Elaine Marshall	1,145,074	43.05
Libertarian	Michael Beitler	55,687	2.09
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,272	0.05

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	2,331,173	53.79
Republican	Ed Goodwin	2,003,026	46.21

North Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2016[20]
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Elaine Marshall (inc.)	2,368,091	52.26
Republican	Michael LaPaglia	2,163,185	47.74

Personal life

Marshall has five stepchildren and seven grandchildren.[21]

Marshall married attorney Bill Holdford in 2001. Holdford had two daughters from a previous relationship. He passed away in 2009 from cancer.[22][23] Marshall married J. Thomas "Tommy" Bunn in 2017.[24]

References

1. News & Observer blog Archived December 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. Baker, Mike (November 2, 2010). "Burr vanquishes Marshall to keep US Senate seat". The Washington Post.
3. "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
4. Baker, Mike (October 18, 2010). Marshall recalls roots, woos rural N.C. Star News.
5. Secretary Marshall's Resume. Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall.
6. The Honorable Elaine F. Marshall. Our Board of Visitors. Campbell University.
7. Fitzsimon, Chris (June 19, 2006).Marshall sees stronger enforcement of lobbying. NC Policy Watch. NC Justice Center.
8. "EFM Resume". Sosnc.com. November 18, 1945. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
9. "Secretary of State". App.sboe.state.nc.us. November 5, 1996. Archived from the original on November 26, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
10. Covington, Owen (September 20, 2017). N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall outlines her keys to economic success for the state. Today at Elon. Elon University.
11. http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NC/7937/14537/en/summary.html
12. Battaglia, Danielle (February 8, 2020). NC Republicans once considered impeaching Elaine Marshall. Now 3 want to unseat her. The News & Observer.
13. "N.C. Secretary of State to head national council – Triangle Business Journal". Triangle.bizjournals.com. December 21, 2006. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
14. Maisel, Louis Sandy; West, Darrell M. (2004). Running on Empty?: Political Discourse in Congressional Elections. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 216. ISBN 9780742530768.
15. "Marshall running for U.S. Senate". Projects.newsobserver.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
16. Observer: Marshall the best choice in strong Democratic field
17. "Coats, Fisher win nominations – James Hohmann". Politico.Com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
18. News & Observer: Marshall triumphs over party powers Archived June 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
19. Observer: Marshall is strongest choice for U.S. Senate
20. "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
21. Meet Elaine Marshall. Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall.
22. Husband Of NC's Secretary Of State Dies Of Cancer
23. November 29, 2009. William Holdford, N.C. official's husband, dies. Winston-Salem Journal.
24. News & Observer: Secretary of State Marshall remarries

External links

• Elaine Marshall campaign website
• Office of the North Carolina Secretary of State Biography government website

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Elaine Marshall at Ballotpedia
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Column archives on The Huffington Post