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. Goodwin won re-election in the 2012 general contest by almost four percentage points.