The Importance of the Judicial Races
Planning for North Carolina Judicial Races
Judicial races have long-ranging consequences. The midterm election of 2022 gave the Republicans a 5–2 majority on the NC Supreme Court. Since then, the court has approved gerrymandered districts that favor Republicans in both state and federal elections, ruled for photo IDs, and dismissed the 32-year-old Leandro case that would have provided funds for public schools in poor districts. Judges are supposed to be impartial and nonpartisan, but as recent decisions and reversals have shown, this is not always so.
North Carolina Supreme Court: 8-year terms
This is the highest court in our state. Rarely may its decisions be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
2026 Election
Anita Earls (D) / Sarah Stevens (R)
Justice Earls, one of only two Democrats remaining on the Court, is the only NC Supreme Court Justice up for re-election in 2026.
We must re-elect Anita Earls to have a chance to restore balance to the court in 2028.
| 2028 Election | 2030 Election | 2032 Election |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Newby, Chief Justice (R) | Richard Dietz (R) | Allison Riggs (D) |
| Philip Berger, Jr. (R) | Trey Allen (R) | |
| Tamara Barringer (R) |
NC State Court of Appeals: 8-year terms
The 15 members of this court hear cases in 3-judge panels. There are currently only 3 Democratic members, and all are up for election this year!
2026 Election
- John Arrowood (D) / Michael Byrne (R)
- Toby Hampson (D) / George Bell (R)
- Christine Walczyk (D) / Craig Collins (R)
We must re-elect Judge Arrowood and Judge Hampson.
We must elect current District Court Judge Christine Walczyk to this seat vacated by a retiring Democrat on the Court of Appeals!
| 2028 Election | 2030 Election | 2032 Election |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Dillon (R) | Julee Flood (R) | Thomas Murry (R) |
| April Wood (R) | Donna Stroud (R) | Valerie Zachary (R) |
| Fred Gore (R) | John Tyson (R) | Christopher Freeman (R) |
| Jeffery Carpenter (R) | Michael Stading (R) | |
| Jefferson Griffin (R) |
- In 2020, Republicans elected or re-elected three NC Supreme Court justices and five NC Court of Appeals judges.
- In 2022, Republicans flipped two NC Supreme Court seats held by Democrats.
- In 2024, Democrat Allison Riggs won by a mere 734 votes in an election that Republican Jefferson Griffin contested for six months.
- Gaining control of the courts has long been a Republican priority, while Democrats and left-leaning unaffiliated voters have too often failed to vote in judicial elections.