Steve Troxler


Steve Troxler is a tobacco farmer and Republican politician. He serves as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for North Carolina. Because of a contested election due to lost ballots in the November 2004 statewide election, he was not sworn in until February 8, 2005. He was re-elected in 2008 and 2012.
He has continued to enforce the ban on carried weapons at the North Carolina State Fair, which was upheld by a county superior court in 2014, although some gun owner groups tried to challenge the policy. The ban on guns at the fair has been maintained.

Biography

Troxler was born and grew up in Browns Summit, North Carolina, where he attended local schools. He studied conservation at North Carolina State University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1974.
He later founded a tobacco and wheat farm, which has been developed as a family business. Getting active in politics after conservative southern whites shifted their political affiliation following the civil rights movement, he joined the Republican Party.
Based on his successful farming career, Troxler first ran for the post of North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture in 2000, losing to Meg Scott Phipps. He ran again for the same position in the 2004 Council of State election, finishing 2,000 votes ahead of incumbent Democrat Britt Cobb. However, because more than 4,000 votes were lost in Carteret County, the race was unresolved for more than three months. After extended legal challenges between Cobb and Troxler, Cobb conceded the race on February 4, 2005.
Troxler was sworn in as North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner on February 8, 2005, a month later than usual. He was the first Republican to be elected as Agriculture Commissioner in the state's history, reflecting the ascendancy of the party in the state. After his inauguration at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Troxler rode a tractor to his downtown offices.
Troxler was re-elected in 2008 as Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the state of North Carolina. In 2012 he was elected to a third term.
Because of a state law passed in 2013 that expanded venues for carrying legally permitted weapons, in 2014 a gun owners group challenged the no-guns policy of the North Carolina State Fair. Troxler enforced the ban that year while court cases were litigated. A Wake County Superior Court upheld the ban at the fair later that year. By early 2015, some legislators introduced bills to allow guns, while others introduced a bill to maintain the ban on carrying guns at the fair. The ban continues as of 2018.

Electoral history