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.

Wood has served four terms as state auditor and worked in other roles in the office for a decade before leading it. She is also the first woman to serve as North Carolina’s state auditor.

“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,” Wood said at the end of a House Oversight and Reform Committee on unemployment benefits.

“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.”

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

Members of the bipartisan 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.