George Bell
George Bell (Republican Party) is a judge for Judicial District 26C of the North Carolina 5th Superior Court Division. He assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Bell (Republican Party) is running for election for the Seat 2 judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. The Republican primary for this office on March 3, 2026, was canceled.
The North Carolina Superior Courts are split into five divisions and 48 districts. Superior court judges rotate among the districts within their division every six months.[1] However, superior court judges are elected by voters in their district and must reside in the district in which they are elected.[2]
Biography
Bell received his B.S. in business management from Cornell University in 2000 and his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 2003. He worked as a law clerk to the Honorable David F. Pugh from 2004-2005 and became a managing partner at Bell and Bell Law Firm, P.C. in 2006. Bell is a volunteer wrestling coach at Mooresville High School and a volunteer soccer coach at Strikers Soccer Center. He is a member of F3 Nation and attends Grace Covenant Church.[3]
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2
Incumbent Toby Hampson (D) and George Bell (R) are running in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Toby Hampson (D) | |
 | George Bell (R) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Toby Hampson (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2 without appearing on the ballot.
Republican primary
The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. George Bell (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2 without appearing on the ballot.
Campaign finance
Endorsements
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2018
General election
General election for North Carolina 5th Superior Court Division Judicial District 26C
George Bell defeated Reggie McKnight and Howard Clark in the general election for North Carolina 5th Superior Court Division Judicial District 26C on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | George Bell (R) | 46.9 | 24,812 |
 | Reggie McKnight (D) | 35.0 | 18,500 | |
| Howard Clark (D) | 18.1 | 9,595 | ||
| Total votes: 52,907 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
North Carolina held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 15, 2016.[4] Incumbent Christy Mann and George Bell defeated James Cyrus IV in the North Carolina Judicial District 26 primary election for the Mann seat.[5]
| North Carolina Judicial District 26 (Mann Seat), Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Christy Mann Incumbent |
52.25% | 81,561 |
| George Bell |
35.86% | 55,987 |
| James Cyrus IV | 11.89% | 18,558 |
| Total Votes | 156,106 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Unofficial Local Election Results - Statewide," accessed March 15, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan election of judges
The North Carolina District Courts utilize partisan elections in the selection of judges. District judges serve four-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving. From 2002 through 2016, elections for district court judges were nonpartisan; however, on March 23, 2017, the North Carolina legislature changed the method of election to partisan elections by overriding Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of HB 100. This change was effective with the 2018 district court elections.[6][7][8]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[6]
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- a district resident; and
- under the age of 72 (retirement at 72 is mandatory).
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2016
Bell issued the following statement regarding his bid for office:
| “ | I will be committed to following the law and treating each person that walks into my courtroom with respect. I will weight the facts of each case consistently and apply the law fairly to all people. I vow to put aside any personal offense or personal bias that would tend to cloud or affect my judgment.
I am running for office because I believe that our court system needs consistency. As a practicing lawyer, I have seen lawyers continue their cases to 'judge shop' because they are unsure of how a judge will rule. If elected, I will be consistent, fair, impartial, and I hope to reduce the amount of judge shopping that is ubiquitous in our court system. I hope to restore faith in our judicial system. [9] |
” |
| —George Bell, [3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "North Carolina Superior Court: About," accessed October 9, 2019
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Court Officials: Superior Court Judges," accessed October 9, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on March 21, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Election Calendar," accessed December 23, 2015
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official candidate list," accessed December 23, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," archived October 3, 2014
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Veto override means voters will know judges’ party affiliations," March 23, 2017
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 100," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
