NC Auditor Beth Wood won’t run for reelection in 2024

North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood will not seek reelection in 2024 as the leader of the agency tasked with oversight of the state government and its local agencies.

Wood, a Democrat, on Wednesday announced her departure for the first time at the end of an oversight hearing at the General Assembly. This follows speculation on her political future following a hit-and-run charge she faced after she left the scene of a car crash in downtown Raleigh in December 2022. She pleaded guilty this year to the misdemeanor charge.

Before the news broke on her crash, Wood had said she would run for reelection. After the crash, she confirmed once more in an interview with WRAL she would run.

But on Wednesday she reversed her position, telling lawmakers, “I just wanted to take this time today to announce to this committee, whose many members are near and dear to my heart and (I) enjoy working with them, that I’m announcing this afternoon that I am not running for reelection.”

“There are some circumstances that are in my life and I’ve recognized I’m 74 years old, and so if there’s some things I want to do, I need to get them done now,” Wood said at the end of a House Oversight and Reform Committee on unemployment benefits.

“We got 14 months to kick some butt,” she said, in concluding her announcement.

Members of both parties on the committee, which is controlled by Republicans, applauded Wood, with the chair of the committee, Republican Rep. Jake Johnson, thanking her for her years of work.

Wood has served four terms as state auditor and worked in other roles in the office for a decade before leading it starting in 2009, when she became the first woman to serve as North Carolina’s state auditor. During her time as auditor, her office has issued various reports on agencies, including most recently one on six schools not following policy for unexcused absences during COVID-19, when many students were taking online classes. She has also identified millions in government waste and has conducted investigations of Republicans and Democrats.

The departure of Wood leaves her office without an incumbent, making it more competitive.

Prior to Wood’s announcement, various Republicans had announced a run. These were Jack Clark, a certified public accountant; David Boliek, chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees; Charles Dingee, former chair of the Wake County Young Republicans; A.J. Daoud, former NCGOP district chairman; and Jim Kee, former Greensboro City Council member.

Republican State Treasurer Dale Folwell, a fellow Council of State member, said shortly after her announcement in a news release that he “was sorry to hear the news” and that Wood “has been a valuable colleague and public servant. She always keeps the best interests of the taxpayers in her heart and mind. I look forward to working with her during the remainder of her term. I’m sure she will finish strong.”