(The Town Square) – Elaine Marshall didn’t think she would be so important in North Carolina history after growing up on a small farm in the country.
She is running for her eighth term as secretary of state this year, after being in office for 28 years. If she wins, she will work for a sixth different governor.
This week, Marshall gave The Center Square an exclusive interview. “It’s historic, and it amazes me because I didn’t even think I’d be a lawyer, let alone run a major office in the government,” he said. “I didn’t have big enough dreams.”
When Marshall won in 1996, she was the first woman in the state’s history to be elected to statewide governing office. Since then, she has focused on economic and technology growth while lobbying and making changes to her office to make it easier for people in North Carolina to get to.
Marshall said, “North Carolina is just a great, attractive, growing place. As a result, the amount of work keeps going up, but the resources from the General Assembly stay the same.” “We found a way to solve a problem by using new technology and teaching people how to use it.”
Before she got into politics, Marshall was very active in 4-H when she was younger.
She talked about how “4-H” changed her mind about the idea that no one in her family would ever go to college. Teachers told my parents that they should put me in college and help me through it. As the things I did went well, I did allow myself to dream a little bigger.
Because she did well in college, she was able to imagine bigger plans for her future. Marshall chose to go back to school to become a lawyer after teaching and running a small business for a few years.
After graduating from law school in 1981, she worked as a lawyer for a few years. She worked on problems affecting women and children while she was there, and she even helped open a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Marshall worked hard in the community for many years and became well-known. In 1992, she was chosen as a state senator.
Marshall said that the things she did as a senator when Democrats controlled the house and the advice she got during that time would help her in her later job as secretary of state.
She said, “When I was in the state Senate, I was in charge of the floor on the marriage equality bill.” “I felt very strongly about helping women who lived in abusive situations and couldn’t see any other way out.”
She also said that being in charge of getting that bill passed made her famous in the state.
She said, “That caused me to become famous.”
And that’s where she got the best help.
“When I first got into the General Assembly, there was a woman lawyer named Sharon Thompson who represented Durham County that I looked up to,” Marshall said. “She told Elaine, “If you want to get something out of being here at the Legislature, join groups you don’t know much about.” You shouldn’t choose the ones that are going to be easy. Spend your time on something that will really benefit you and help you learn more.
It was Marshall.
“I knew that if I didn’t need to be on the committee on women and children, that would find me no matter where I was in the world and building,” she said. It was my choice to be on the committee for city government.
The local government committee wasn’t liked by many people, but it was the right place for her to learn how to do her job as secretary of state.
“Local government is the government that people trust the most.” “Local government is now in my office as secretary of state, and it gives the most service,” Marshall said.
If you want to win in 1996, Marshall had to beat Richard Petty, a seven-time NASCAR winner and 200-win auto racer. She beat him by 53.5% to 45.1%.
Marshall said that everything she had learned had helped her make the office a better place to work. Rufus Edminstein, who was elected in 1989, quit, and Gov. Jim Hunt chose Janice Faulkner to finish the last year of his second term.
She said, “I took over an office that was in terrible shape.” “Those who say the ship of state can’t be turned around are wrong.” There are less than 200 people on the ship of state, so this is not a very big group. We are all connected in a pretty close way.
Marshall said that boosting mood was an important part of making the office look better.
Marshall said, “And the real key was getting people in the office to understand why they did what they did and why they did it for people in North Carolina who were starting new businesses.” “They are really happy about it now that they know how important they are to getting small businesses off the ground.”
Marshall said that North Carolina’s secretary of state’s office has a special job to do.
Marshall said, “When most people think of the secretary of state, they think of elections. But we don’t deal with elections.”
Her office, on the other hand, is in charge of controlling different industries, registering trademarks, and even fighting fake drugs and other goods.
Marshall said, “I make the office of secretary of state the strongest in the country.” “I say that because I am in charge of both law enforcement and administration, and I have my own investigators and prosecutors on staff. This means that I have many ways to punish people who break the laws we are in charge of.”
The 78-year-old (she will be 79 on November 18) is running on her record and measures that will help the economy.
Marshall said, “I talk about technology all the time because we need to stay ahead of it.” “I really care about the problems that business owners face.” Our job is to help the economy grow, so I’m putting in a lot of effort to help businesses in rural areas.
Marshall’s office started a program called Rural RISE two years ago to help small companies all over North Carolina.
“It’s crazy how many new businesses are filed in North Carolina every year,” Marshall said. “Our doors have been open since 2020, and every day we get between 650 and 700 new businesses.” “That’s the speed of whiplash.”
She is only the third secretary of state to be chosen by the people since 1936. She has been with Republican Pat McCrory and Democratic governors Jim Hunt, Michael Easley, Bev Perdue, and Roy Cooper.
“Business growth and economic growth are good things that both parties want,” she said.
She said that the people who have been with her “through thick and thin” are the reason she is where she is now.
She said, “I’ve had some really big wins and some really big losses in life.” “Friends and coworkers have been there for me when things got tough.”
One of them is Martha Sue Hall. She is thankful that they have been friends for decades and that they work together.
“I met her for the first time in 1983, when she was a brand-new lawyer in eastern North Carolina,” Hall said. “She was strong.” She was beautiful. Just being around her made people want to respect her.
Over the years, they kept running into each other, and in the end, Hall ran for office against Marshall.
“I ran for office in 1996 with a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old, and they did a lot of things with me for Elaine.” I quickly learned that we were more than just political friends, Hall said. “We are friendly with each other.” Our friends and family have died, been born, divorced, married, and graduated. We’ve been through everything a family can go through together.
It was said by Hall that Marshall looks out for all North Carolinians.
Hall said, “She is the most honest government worker I have ever met.” “It does not matter if you are a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, Black, or white.”
The bond between North Carolina and the country of Moldova is strong thanks to Marshall. She was recently given the Moldovan Order of Honor, which is the greatest honor that Moldova can give to a person who is not a Moldovan citizen.
Another close friend, U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, said, “She’s really become North Carolina’s consistent ambassador to Moldova.”
Ross said that she has seen Marshall be a leader for women many times over the years.
Ross said, “We’ve been in the trenches together, fighting for regular North Carolinians.” “I admire her most for how much she cares about this state and its people.” She is not an egotistical politician, which is not often seen in politicians. Her main goal as a leader is to help people.
Ross also said that Marshall wants to get to know the people of North Carolina.
“I think more people in North Carolina have that good personal connection with her than with anyone else,” she said. “She does everything with all her heart and all her energy. She’s like the mom of the whole state of North Carolina.”
She takes that same level of passion to her hobbies as well.
“Having a garden was always something that made you feel good when you were done,” Marshall said. „It was never a bother. It was always a pleasure.
Marshall said that she has had to cut back on her yard since her husband died, but she still likes the plants she has.
Marshall said she had no plans to leave public service when asked if she would run again in 2028. This fall, she is running against Chad Brown, who wants to be the first Republican to win the office since William Howerton from 1873 to 1877.
“Nothing else is on my mind besides November,” she said. “Let me start a new government and see how things go.” I’m enjoying myself. What I’m doing makes me happy. It looks like I’m making things better for the people of North Carolina, so everything is fine from now on.