Kevin Jones (North Carolina District Court judge)

Kevin Jones

Democratic Party

Candidate, North Carolina District Court District 16 Seat 3

North Carolina District Court District 16 Seat 3

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

2

Predecessor: Kevin Jones

Prior offices:

North Carolina 14th Judicial District

Years in office: 2023 - 2024

Predecessor: Pat Evans

Successor: Kevin Jones (D)

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Elections and appointments

Last election

March 3, 2026

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Columbia Central High School

Bachelor's

Vanderbilt University, 1997

Law

North Carolina Central University School of Law, 2003

Personal

Profession

Attorney at law

Kevin Jones (Democratic Party) is a judge for Seat 3 of the North Carolina 16th Judicial District. He assumed office on January 1, 2024. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.

Jones (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for the Seat 3 judge of the North Carolina 16th Judicial District. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. The Democratic primary for this office on March 3, 2026, was canceled.

Biography

Kevin Jones earned a high school diploma from Columbia Central High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in 1997 and a law degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law in 2003. His career experience includes working as an attorney at law.

Elections

2026

See also: Municipal elections in Durham County, North Carolina (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 District Court District 16 Seat 3

Incumbent Kevin Jones (D) is running in the general election for North Carolina District Court District 16 Seat 3 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Kevin Jones (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Incumbent Kevin Jones (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina District Court District 16 Seat 3 without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Durham County, North Carolina (2022)

General election

General election for North Carolina 14th Judicial District

Kevin Jones won election in the general election for North Carolina 14th Judicial District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Jones (D)	100.0	103,349

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 103,349
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for North Carolina 14th Judicial District

Kevin Jones defeated incumbent Pat Evans in the Democratic primary for North Carolina 14th Judicial District on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kevin Jones	72.5	33,578
		Pat Evans	27.5	12,742

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,320
= 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.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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2022

Kevin Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jones' responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. I came to North Carolina as a part of the Teach for America program in 1997. I taught 5th grade at Braswell Elementary School, in Rocky Mount, NC for three years. It was during this time as a classroom teacher where I began to see the effect poverty, mental health, and substance abuse can have on a child's ability to obtain an adequate education. Through no fault of their own, children were hindered from reaching their full potential simply because of the environment in which they were born. The time spent as a classroom teacher further intensified my desire to use a law degree to protect the rights of those who, like my students, found themselves in jeopardy of losing fundamental rights because of certain environmental factors outside of their control. After receiving my law degree from NCCU School of Law and being licensed to practice law in North Carolina, I began working as an Assistant Public Defender in Durham County. The four (4) years I spent as a Public Defender allowed me to fully understand how people can become lost in the justice system and their lives ruined when they don't have passionate, professional, and experienced representation. My time as a classroom teacher and Assistant Public Defender provided a strong foundation upon which to build my private practice. My entire professional career has been focused on protecting the rights of others.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Respect - I decided to run for District Court Judge to provide the citizens of Durham with “Greater Justice.” I view greater justice as never being satisfied with the status quo or “business as usual” within the justice system. Tragedy awaits when those who are responsible for the administration of justice: police officers, sheriff deputies, attorneys, clerks, and judges, fail to see the importance of respecting those who appear before the court. Victims of crime are not made whole, defendants’ constitutional rights are trampled, and families are torn apart when the “business as usual” approach becomes the norm. I am running for judge to bring a new approach that focuses on serving the citizens of Durham by first respecting them.
• Rehabilitation - My pursuit of greater justice is inspired by the eighteen (18) years I have spent helping clients understand their constitutional rights, protecting clients from those who would abuse the justice system, and securing resources for clients who are in need. As an Assistant Public Defender in Durham County, I counseled many young men and women through their first involvement with the justice system. These experiences reinforce my belief that rehabilitation must be a priority within our Justice System.
• Redemption - I consistently represented individuals who lived below the poverty line, suffered from mental illness, or were battling drug addiction. Many of my clients found themselves struggling with all of these conditions. My clients frequently found themselves facing the extremely difficult decision of either paying rent or paying court fees. I considered it a part of my advocacy to find the appropriate resources for my clients to help prevent them from returning to the justice system as a repeat offender. Redemption becomes a true possibility when judicial officials are aware of the individual circumstances of each citizen appearing before the court.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Race equity training is an area of public policy I am passionate about. We must be vigilant in pursuing justice by accepting the fact that racial bias does exist within the justice system. When you walk into a Durham County criminal and/or traffic courtroom, a majority of citizens represented are members of a racial or ethnic minority group. I refuse to accept the false idea that minorities are somehow more prone to commit crimes. We must not ignore and turn a blind eye to the history of racism and injustice that has plagued our society. Race equity training is one tool that can be used to help judicial officials uncover implicit biases that may be affecting their rulings and how citizens are being treated in their courtrooms. Racial equity training can help judges discover new ways to interact with members of the minority community that will help both victims and defendants receive true justice from the court.
Judges should also receive mandatory LGTBQ culturally competence training in addition to racial equity training. Our society is constantly evolving. My campaign is centered on the idea of pursuing greater justice for the citizens of Durham. Pursing greater justice means taking pro-active steps to ensure that all members of our community receive equitable treatment from the courts.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

North Carolina courts

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Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina

State courts:

Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts

State resources:

Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina