JP Election Brief: Partisan elections in the top courts
The JP Election Brief | |
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| Pulling back the curtain on the drama of judicial elections | |
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| In this issue... | |
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September 25, 2014
| Five courts of last resort in the country are having partisan elections this year--the supreme courts in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan, as well as Texas' two top courts. In all four of these states, Republicans control the governorship, have a majority in both legislative houses and a majority on the supreme court. This is referred to as a Trifecta Plus by Ballotpedia. Maintaining this control seems to be the name of the game for Republicans, but that may be more difficult in some states than in others.
In the color-coded candidate tables throughout this article, blue represents the Democratic Party, red represents the Republican Party and gray represents another, minor party. | ||
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Michigan Supreme Court
Though Michigan's elections are technically nonpartisan, candidates are nominated by party committees. Currently, the Michigan Supreme Court has five Republicans and two Democrats on its bench. One Democratic seat and two Republican seats are up for election this year. The partisan balance of the court could flip, but Democrats would need to win all three seats.
8-year term (2 open seats):
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
| Michael Cavanagh | |
| Brian Zahra |
2-year term:
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
| David Viviano |
North Carolina Supreme Court
North Carolina's judicial elections are technically nonpartisan. However, it is a state where the justices' political affiliations are clearly known and political parties may publicly endorse candidates. Currently, the Supreme Court of North Carolina has five Republicans and two Democrats on its bench. In 2014, four seats are up for election, meaning that a majority of the seven-member court is up for grabs.
Three Democratic seats and one Republican seat were initially up for election this year. Two of those seats--the chief justice position and Justice Martin's open seat--were given new, Republican incumbents thanks to appointments by Governor Pat McCrory in August 2014. That resulted in the chief justice position changing from a Democratic incumbent (Sarah Parker, who retired) to a Republican incumbent (Mark Martin, who is running for a full term in 2014). Thus, going into the November elections, two seats are occupied by Republicans and two by Democrats.
A partisan flip is not possible, even though a majority of the court's seats are up for election, because it would require Democrats to win all four seats and there are no Democrats in the race for chief justice.
Republicans, on the other hand, have a chance to monopolize the court if they can oust Justices Cheri Beasley and Robin Hudson.
Chief Justice seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Martin seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Mark Martin |
Beasley seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Hudson seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
Ohio Supreme Court
Ohio:
| Every Thursday, Judgepedia's State Courts Staff highlights interesting events in the world of judicial elections across the nation. Make sure to use Judgepedia's Election Central the rest of the week as a hub for all your judicial election needs. |
Though Ohio holds nonpartisan general elections, its primaries are partisan, so the political affiliations of the judicial candidates are commonly known. Currently, the Ohio Supreme Court has six Republicans and one Democrat on its bench. Two Republican seats are up for election this year. It could be a chance for Democrats to obtain a slightly larger presence on the court, but they will face an uphill battle due to the incumbency of both Republican candidates, which tends to offer a distinct advantage, especially in a state that is already dominated by Republicans.
French seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
Kennedy seat:
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
Texas Supreme Court
Currently, the Texas Supreme Court has nine Republicans and no Democrats on its bench. Four Republican justices are seeking re-election in 2014.
The key race to watch is for Place 6, where Justice Jeff Brown is being challenged by a judge of the state's other high court, Lawrence Meyers. Meyers has served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals since 1992. He was also a Republican for his entire judicial career, but chose to run as a Democrat in this election.
Due to the GOP's dominance in Texas, the Republican primaries were pivotal in 2014. For example, no Democratic candidates filed for the Place 8 seat. Because of this, the Republican Justice Phil Johnson does not have to face a Democratic opponent.
Hecht seat (Chief justice):
| Current justice | Candidates |
|---|---|
Brown seat (Place 6):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Boyd seat (Place 7):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Johnson seat (Place 8):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Currently, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has eight Republicans and one Democrat on its bench. However, Judge Lawrence Meyers only recently switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, so the GOP, in reality, has held a monopoly on the court. Three Republican seats are up for election this year, vacated by retiring justices.
Again, the Republican primaries were very important in these elections. This was especially true for the Place 4 and Place 9 seats, in which no Democratic candidates filed. Because of this, the Republican candidates Yeary and Newell are virtually assured election in November. The general election race for Place 3 will feature a member of both major political parties.
Price seat (Place 3):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Womack seat (Place 4):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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Cochran (Place 9):
| Current justice | Candidates |
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See also
Footnotes
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