Steve W. Troxler (born 1952) is an American farmer and politician who has served as the 16th Agriculture Commissioner of North Carolina since 2005. Because of a contested election due to lost ballots in the November 2004 statewide elections, he was not sworn in until February 8, 2005. He was re-elected in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024.Ballotpedia - Steve Troxler
Retrieved Feb. 20, 2021.
Retrieved Feb. 20, 2021

Biography

Troxler was born and grew up in

Browns Summit, North Carolina Browns Summit (sometimes called Brown Summit) is a small unincorporated community in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The community remains rural, consisting of wooded areas and a mixture of open meadows and rolling farmland, howev ...

, where he attended local schools. He studied

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

, earning a bachelor's degree in 1974. Troxler originally leased farmland in Browns Summit before he purchased some after he got his degree and primarily grew tobacco. After he was elected to office, he planted less tobacco in favor of wheat and produce.

Political career

Troxler was originally a member of the Democratic Party, but left the organization in the late 1990s, feeling that Democrats were hostile to tobacco production. Jerry Blackwelder, a Republican Party consultant, recruited him as a candidate for the office of

North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture The Commissioner of Agriculture is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. The commissioner is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer who serves as the head of the state's North Carolina De ...

. Troxler ran in 2000, losing to

Meg Scott Phipps Meg Scott Phipps is an American former politician and convicted felon who served as the Commissioner of Agriculture for the state of North Carolina from 2001 to 2003. Early life and education From Mebane, North Carolina, she is the daughter of ...

. Due to a financial corruption scandal, Phipps was replaced by Democrat Britt Cobb in 2003. Troxler ran again for the same position in the 2004 Council of State election, finishing 2,287 votes ahead of incumbent Cobb. However, because more than 4,000 votes were lost in

Carteret County Carteret County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carol ...

, 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. 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 The North Carolina State Fair is an American state fair and agricultural exposition held annually in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1853, the fair is organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It attr ...

, Troxler rode a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

to his downtown offices. Troxler was re-elected in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

as Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the state of North Carolina. As of

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

he is currently serving his sixth 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 2023.

Electoral history

References

External links

North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Troxler, Steve 1952 births 21st-century North Carolina politicians Living people North Carolina commissioners of agriculture North Carolina Republicans North Carolina State University alumni People from Browns Summit, North Carolina