RALEIGH — There was nothing friendly about the election battle between Democratic incumbent Britt Cobb and Republican challenger Steve Troxler for agriculture commissioner last year.
Cobb’s refusal to accept his close but clear defeat, by a margin that was smaller than the number of votes an electronic machine lost in one Republican-leaning county, resulted in a crazy series of decisions by the state Board of Elections and the courts. Another election, whether in one county or statewide, seemed to be the expensive likelihood to settle the dispute until Cobb finally yielded.
Both men left any ill feelings outside the Jim Graham Building, named for their beloved predecessor, when they attended Tuesday’s Congressional Farmers Breakfast.
Graham set the precedent of the agriculture commissioner attending the farm breakfast, and Cobb continued the tradition after he was appointed to replace the disgraced Meg Scott Phipps. Tuesday, it was Troxler’s first turn, and the Democratic hosts and the Republican commissioner put aside partisanship to unite for the morning on farm issues.
Cobb received an ovation at the urging of Rep. Bob Etheridge, and while Troxler addressed the crowd, Cobb kept smiling from the audience.
Still, Troxler couldn’t resist having a little fun over the circumstances of his election. He noted that he and the morning’s keynote speaker, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, had something in common: “Both of us it took a little while to get elected.”
Cobb had to leave early, so we didn’t get to see whether his smile survived to the end.