The races for open seats for lieutenant governor and state treasurer could be close contests, according to the latest results from Public Policy Polling.

But while most incumbents for Council of State offices enjoy "solid leads" in the latest survey, State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, trails Democratic challenger Beth Wood.

PPP surveyed 616 likely voters on May 8-9. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The full results in the various Council of State races after the jump:

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It was a good night for female candidates.

Aside from Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beverly Perdue, the Senate race will be between Kay Hagan and Elizabeth Dole.

Meantime, Janet Cowell is ahead in the state treasurer race, Beth Wood is ahead in the satte auditor's race, June Atkinson beat back a rival in the state superintendent's race, while Kristin Ruth and Jewel Ann Farlow were finalists for the state Court of Appeals.

In addition, Mary Fant Donnan is in the primary runoff for Labor Commissioner on the Democratic side.

Hillary Clinton may not have won the primary, but she likely brought more female voters to the polls. 

David Young will celebrate in Asheville.

The Democratic candidate for state treasurer will watch election night returns with family and friends at his house.

Beth Wood will celebrate at her parents' farm.

The Democratic candidate for state auditor will watch election returns with her family in Cove City.

June Atkinson will celebrate at the North Raleigh Hilton.

The Democratic candidate for superintendent of public instruction will watch election returns in suite 543 with family and supporters.

Eddie Davis will celebrate at his home.

The Democratic candidate for superintendent of public instruction will watch election returns with his family in Durham.

Eric H. Smith will celebrate in Reidsville.

The Republican candidate for superintendent of public instruction will watch election returns at his home with family and friends.

The N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers endorsed Beth Wood.

The group's political action committee announced this week that it was backing Wood, a former employee of the state auditor's office, in her run for the Democratic nomination for auditor.

"Her experience in the State Auditor's office, coupled with her background as a CPA, make her the strongest choice for the job," said Todd Barlow, political affairs counsel for the group, in a statement.

Nine statewide candidates will accept public financing in their campaigns.

At a press conference held by N.C. Voters for Clean Elections outside the state Capitol today, nearly all of the three Republicans and six Democrats said that the financing program will make them less reliant on special interests.

The group includes two incumbents, Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson and Republican state Auditor Les Merritt. It also includes insurance commissioner candidate Wayne Goodwin, who said his 2004 campaign for labor commissioner was eye-opening.

"While candidates used to visit all the county seats across this great state and visit every courthouse sheriff and stop in to enjoy an RC Cola at a country store or go to umpteen barbecue rallies around the state, in 2004 I learned how campaigning had succumbed to the money chase," he said.

He said he spent up to eight hours a day, six days a week, calling donors.

The other participants include superintendent candidates Eddie Davis and Eric H. Smith, auditor candidates Beth Wood and Fred Aikens and insurance commissioner candidates John Odom and David Smith.

David Smith did not attend the rally due to a family emergency.

Beth Wood has her zinger down for the fall election.

The candidate for the Democratic nomination for state auditor has some primary competition in Fred Aikens, but at the Young Democrats convention she tried out a line to use against incumbent Republican Les Merritt.

"The citizens of North Carolina don't need to settle for Les," she said.

The AFL-CIO has made endorsements in seven races.

As previously noted, the state chapter of the labor coalition is backing Hampton Dellinger, a former aide to Gov. Mike Easley, for lieutenant governor, and it is sitting out the Democratic gubernatorial contest between Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue.

In the other races, women and Democrats scored big.

The AFL-CIO picked state Sen. Kay Hagan for U.S. Senate, state Sen. Janet Cowell for state treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson for re-election, former auditor's employee Beth Wood for state auditor and Mary Fant Donnan for labor commissioner.

The only other male endorsement went to Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner.

All of the endorsed candidates are Democrats in contested primaries.

North Carolina's campaign season opened at noon with the national debate over the war in Iraq echoing in Tar Heel congressional races.

Two Republican congressional candidates, Joe McLaughlin of Jacksonville and Will Breazeale of Elizabethtown, filed for election against incumbents who they say should be turned out of office for not being sufficiently supportive of the U.S. military effort in Iraq, Rob Christensen reports.

Dozens of candidates lined up in the State Board of Elections for the filling period that opened at noon. They included Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge, Republican Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, and Beth Wood, a former CPA in the state auditor's office, who wants to run against her hold boss Les Merritt.

Ronnie Anlsey, a Raleigh attorney, filed as a Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner.

More after the jump.

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Someone in the state auditor's office has been reading the Democratic Party Web site.

According to server logs released by the state party today, a computer in the state auditor's department has been used to check the Web site 217 times in the past six months, making him one of the top 40 visitors in that time period.

"The state auditor's office should not use state resources for political purposes," said Democratic Party spokeswoman Kerra Bolton.

Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican in his first term, is running for re-election. One of his former employees, Beth Wood, is running for the Democratic nomination for auditor. 

Bolton said that one of the auditor's computers was used to look at sections of the Web site dedicated to Wood, her fundraising efforts and the Democratic Women of North Carolina. 

In response, Merritt said he reminds his staff routinely not to use state resources for political activity. He also questioned the timing of the release, noting that his office is investigating Democratic gubernatorial candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue for using state resources on political activity.

"It is possible that the Democratic Party's press release is an attempt to blunt findings that might be part of a subsequent report," he said in a statement. 

The statement was the first confirmation that Merritt's office is investigating Perdue and Moore. The two candidates requested investigations of each other's offices in September.

Fred Aikens will run for the Democratic nomination for state auditor.

Aikens, 57, is a retired state deputy of corrections and transportation and a retired colonel for the U.S. Army and N.C. National Guard. He served in Kuwait in 2003.

He's also been on numerous government councils and local nonprofits, including a stint chairing the State Government Information Technology Council.

If he wins the primary, Aikens plans to participate in a pilot program for public financing of the race. He said he hopes to increase accountability and reduce the focus of state government on campaign donors.

"I think we have seen enough scandal in Raleigh recently," he said in a statement. "It's time to clean up the mess."

Aikens will face Beth Wood in the primary. Incumbent Republican Les Merritt is seeking re-election.