Beth Wood

Beth Wood
Auditor of North Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2009
Governor	Bev Perdue Pat McCrory
Preceded by	Les Merritt
Personal details
Born	(1954-04-22) April 22, 1954
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Wayne Community College East Carolina University (BA)

Beth Wood (born April 22, 1954) has served as the North Carolina State Auditor since January 10, 2009. She defeated incumbent Republican State Auditor Les Merritt in the 2008 election. She is North Carolina's first female state auditor.

Wood is a certified public accountant and a former training officer at the Office of the State Auditor. Her 2008 run for State Auditor as a Democrat was her first attempt at any elective office. In her 2012 run for re-election, she was endorsed by the News and Observer, whose editors wrote that Wood "has won respect for her leadership of an office that has not shied from criticizing [state] agencies for instances of mismanagement." She was re-elected in November 2012 with more than 53 percent of the vote, over Republican Wake County Board of Education member Debra Goldman.

Wood is a graduate of Wayne Community College and East Carolina University.

She was named one of the "most powerful women in accounting" for 2013 by CPA Practice Advisor.

Electoral history

North Carolina Auditor Democratic Primary Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Beth Wood	801,308	64.48
Democratic	Fred Aikens	441,411	35.52

North Carolina Auditor Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Beth Wood	2,175,242	53.57
Republican	Leslie Merritt (inc.)	1,885,229	46.43

North Carolina Auditor Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Beth Wood (inc.)	2,299,541	53.71
Republican	Debra Goldman	1,981,539	46.29

External links

• News & Observer profile page
• Charlotte Observer endorses Wood
• NC Office of the State Auditor (official government site)