Steve Troxler
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Steve Troxler is a tobacco farmer and the Republican Commissioner of Agriculture for the U.S. state of North Carolina, sworn in February 8, 2005 after an extended election dispute following the November 2004 statewide election.
Troxler, a resident of Brown Summit, North Carolina, studied conservation at North Carolina State University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1974; he later founded a family tobacco and wheat farming operation.
Troxler 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 only 2,000 votes ahead of incumbent Democrat Britt Cobb. However, because over 4,000 votes were lost in Carteret County, the race was unresolved for over three months. After extended legal battles 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 after the rest of the Council of State, becoming the first Republican Agriculture Commissioner in the state's history. After his inauguration at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Troxler rode a tractor to his downtown offices.
