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Who is the highest ranking elected official in North Carolina that nobody knows? The award goes to Beth Wood, the state auditor. 

A National Research poll commissioned by the Civitas Institute looks at voter's thoughts on the nine elected Council of State officials and found only two -- Attorney General Roy Cooper and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall -- who were known by more than half the voters.

Wood topped the "never heard of" list (75 percent of voters), followed closely by State Treasurer Janet Cowell (74 percent), Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin (73 percent) and Superintendent of Education June Atkinson (61 percent).

Among Council of State officials, voters had the most favorable opinions of Cooper (30 percent), Marshall (29 percent), Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler (21 percent) and Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry (21 percent).

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton won the curious designation as the top elected official who voters knew but didn't know how they felt about (54 percent).

This morning's meeting of the Council of State was a subdued affair because of the death of former Insurance Commission Jim Long.

Gov. Beverly Perdue asked for a moment's silence for Long, who last month ended 24 years of experience regulating the insurance business, Rob Christensen reports.

She joked that if Long were there, he would have said pass the donuts and coffee and said get the meeting moving.

Perdue asked the Council of State members to attend Long's funeral on Thursday as a group.

Long’s death overshadowed a little history. For the first time, a majority of the members of the Council of State were women: Perdue, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, State Treasurer Janet Cowell and State Auditor Beth Wood, and Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson.

The Council of State members can drop the "elect" now.

In order of the creation of their offices, the nine statewide elected officials took their oaths of office: Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, Attorney General Roy Cooper, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, Treasurer Janet Cowell, Auditor Beth Wood, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton.

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.