Wayne Goodwin - Political Career

Political Career

After serving as President of the Young Democrats of North Carolina, Goodwin served four full terms in the state House. Goodwin campaigned as the Democratic nominee for the position of North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in the 2004 election, losing in a close race to incumbent Republican Cherie Berry.

Goodwin served as the Assistant Commissioner of Insurance and Assistant State Fire Marshal for the State of North Carolina from 2005 through 2008. In 2008, Goodwin filed to run for Commissioner of Insurance after the surprise retirement of longtime Commissioner Jim Long. Goodwin defeated David Smith in the Democratic primary 56%–43% and went on to beat Republican John Odom and Libertarian Mark McMains with 51.57% of the vote. Running for re-election in 2012, Goodwin was endorsed by the News and Observer, whose editors wrote that he "has tilted toward lower rates and consumer protection, but not to the point where insurance – auto and property in particular – has become hard to obtain. He tackled a problem with the availability of coastal homeowners insurance in a way meant to balance the interests of coastal and inland residents....Goodwin has shown that he’s up to the job."

Goodwin has also served as Vice Chairman of Southeast Zone of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the chairman of various consumer protection-related committees on the national level.