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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How much did female solidarity affect down-ballot races?

It's hard to quantify, but we know that Hillary Clinton drew a lot of women to the polls on Tuesday, despite losing to Barack Obama.

We also know that among low- to medium-information voters, one of the only things you can tell about a candidate from looking at the ballot is gender. (You cannot necessarily do the same with race.)

Looking at the dropoff in the down-ballot races, Dome noticed something of a natural experiment that might help quantify the effect of women voters.

The two partisan races with the biggest dropoff from the presidential race were insurance commissioner and labor commissioner. Coincidentally, one of those two races had no female candidates, while the other had two. (There were no women in the lieutenant governor's race as well.)

The dropoff was not as substantial in the races for state treasurer, state auditor and schools superintendent.

To pick the two that are most comparable, neither state auditor nor insurance commissioner are offices in which the average voter has a strong opinion. Both were two-person races without an incumbent. None of the candidates advertised heavily on television and all are relying on public financing.

But 1,253,251 people voted in the auditor's race, while only 1,223,609 voted in the insurance commissioner's race — a difference of 29,642 votes. That's a little less than 2 percent of the total Democratic voters.

Complicating factors: The incumbent auditor is a Republican who Democrats are eager to unseat. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin previously ran for statewide office and had a small TV ad buy. Ballot order may have affected voting rates.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the number of women in the labor commissioner's race. 

A TV ad for Wayne Goodwin, candidate for the Democratic nomination for state insurance commissioner.

Equality NC PAC announced its endorsements in several statewide primaries.

The political arm of North Carolina's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group was one of two PACs to announce support for state Treasurer Richard Moore for governor.

The group cited as evidence of his support for equal rights Moore's decision as treasurer to adopt a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation.

"Treasurer Moore has demonstrated leadership in standing up for fairness in state government and is committed to fighting discrimination as governor," Ian Palmquist, the group's executive director, wrote in a press release.

The group also endorsed Wayne Goodwin for insurance commissioner, state Sen. Janet Cowell for treasurer and incumbent June Atkinson for superintendent of public instruction.

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.

Jim Long's hand is going to get hot soon.

First, the longtime insurance commissioner passed the torch to his handpicked choice for successor, deputy commissioner Wayne Goodwin, at a last-minute filing Friday.

Then, he took the torch back so he could pass it again at this morning's Council of State's meeting, taking a moment of personal privilege to introduce Goodwin to the other top statewide elected officials, who probably remember him from his 2004 run for labor commissioner.

"It's time to move on and pass the torch to the younger generation," Long said.

He then introduced Goodwin, who waved to the audience.

The actual torch will be passed after the contested Democratic primary, in which Goodwin faces David C. Smith, and the November election, in which the winner will face John Odom.

Jim Long will not run for re-election.

The longtime Democratic insurance commissioner will not seek a seventh term in office.

Wayne Goodwin, a former four-term state representative and failed candidate for labor commissioner in 2004, filed today to replace Long, shortly before the noon deadline.

He was accompanied to the State Board of Elections by Long and by his wife, state Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin, a Richmond County Democrat.

When asked about his failure to file so far, Long spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said Wednesday that Long intended to file for re-election on Friday.

Long, 67, was first elected insurance commissioner in 1986. He is the longest-serving member of the Council of State.

"I felt it was time to 'pass the torch' to a new generation of leadership for the Department," Long wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

Update: Former Raleigh City Councilman John Odom has also filed.

The Dome Office Pool is now closed.

The final tally shows some interesting results. There were 33 official entrants, including WUNC reporter Laura Leslie, Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Dan Besse, former Labor Commissioner candidate Wayne Goodwin and a host of Dome regulars.

* The most popular Democratic pick: Obama-Edwards-Clinton, with 16.

* The second-most popular: Obama-Clinton-Edwards tied with Edwards Clinton Obama, at 4.

* The most popular Republican pick: Huckabee-Romney-McCain, with 12.

* The second-most popular: Romney-Huckabee-McCain, with 10.

* Outliers: One picks McCain for first. One picks Giuliani for second. Two pick Biden for third place.

* Medians for Democrats: Obama 32, Edwards 31, Clinton 28.

* Medians for Republicans: Huckabee 30, Romney 29, McCain 19.

Wayne Goodwin says he does not want any interest on campaign loans.

In a letter to the State Board of Elections today, the former state representative and one-time candidate for labor commissioner said that a 10 percent interest rate on personal loans to his campaign was not going to be paid anyway.

"Please strike any reference to a specific interest rate and change it to zero percent," he wrote in the letter.

Goodwin, husband of state Rep. Melanie Wade Goodwin, said that he never intended for his campaign to repay the loans.

Earlier: Above-market interest rates on campaign loans spark interest.

Former state House co-speaker Richard Morgan is not the only candidate to show an above-market interest rate for loans he made to his campaign.

Election reports show that former state Rep. Wayne Goodwin, a Richmond County Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for labor commissioner in 2004, loaned his campaign roughly $45,000 at a 10 percent interest rate, reports Dan Kane. Goodwin's wife, Democratic Rep. Melanie Goodwin, also loaned roughly $22,000 to the campaign at the same rate.

But unlike Morgan, Wayne Goodwin said he and his wife never intended to collect the interest on the loans, which remain outstanding.

"I will not be taking any interest," Goodwin said. "That was just filling out a blank (on the campaign report)."

Subsequent election reports show that Goodwin has made partial reimbursements to himself for the loan of $2,750, all of which were deducted from the principal. He expects that he and his wife will likely not be reimbursed for the full amount of their loans.

"I would think most people who make loans to their campaigns probably never pay it back," said Goodwin, now an assistant insurance commissioner for the state. "They write it off, and I think that's ultimately what will happen with me."

Read more after the jump.

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