Ralph A. Campbell, Jr. was for three terms the state auditor

State auditor

State auditors are executive officers of U.S. states who serve as auditors and comptrollers for state funds....

 of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

. A Democrat, Campbell was the first African-American to hold a state-wide elected executive office in North Carolina.

Campbell was a native of Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

 and an alumnus of St. Augustine's College, holding a degree in business administration. His younger brother is former Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 Mayor Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell (mayor)

Bill Campbell , is a former American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and served as the 57th Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., from 1994 to 2002. Campbell was the fifty-seventh mayor in the city's history and the third African American to hold the office...

. He served in the United States Army Reserve

United States Army Reserve

The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....

 from 1971 to 1977. From 1977 to 1986, he worked as a field auditor for the North Carolina Department of Revenue, and from 1986 to 1990, as a plan auditor for the State Health Benefits Office. Between 1990 and 1992, Campbell worked in the administration of the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Campbell was first elected to Raleigh City Council

Raleigh City Council

Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina.Raleigh is governed by council-manager government. It is composed of eight members, including the Mayor of Raleigh. Five of the members are elected from the five districts that cover the city. ...

 in 1985 and was re-elected three additional times, serving as mayor pro tem in his final term, from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, he ran for the office of State Auditor and became the first African-American on the North Carolina Council of State

North Carolina Council of State

The Council of State is a group of popularly elected executive offices in North Carolina, USA. It is separate from the North Carolina Cabinet, which is appointed by the Governor of North Carolina, and makes up the rest of the executive leadership of the government...

. Campbell was re-elected to the same office in 1996 and 2000.

Campbell sought a fourth term in the 2004 Council of State elections

North Carolina Council of State election, 2004

Elections to choose members of the North Carolina Council of State were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004....

, but was narrowly defeated by Les Merritt

Les Merritt

Leslie Merritt is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of North Carolina and a former North Carolina State Auditor, a position to which he was elected in 2004. Merritt was defeated by Democratic Beth Wood in the North Carolina Council of State elections, 2008 as part of a Democratic sweep....

. He died in 2011 of lung cancer.