North Carolina Supreme Court elections

There are seven justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the North Carolina judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in North Carolina

The seven justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court are chosen through partisan elections. Justices are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a person must be licensed to practice law in North Carolina. There is a mandatory retirement age of 72 years.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is elected by voters to serve in that capacity for an eight-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the governor appoints a successor to serve until the next general election which is held more than 60 days after the vacancy occurs. The governor must select an appointee from a list of three recommendations provided by the executive committee of the political party with which the vacating justice was affiliated. An election is then held for a full eight-year term.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

Elections are held in even-numbered years. These elections were nonpartisan from 2004 to 2018.

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2030

Trey Allen's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Richard Dietz's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2028

Tamara Barringer's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Phil Berger Jr.'s seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Paul Martin Newby's seat

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

North Carolina Supreme Court

See also: North Carolina Supreme 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 Supreme Court

Incumbent Anita Earls (D) and Sarah Stevens (R) are running in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Anita Earls (D)
		Sarah Stevens (R)

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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 Anita Earls (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2026, was canceled. Sarah Stevens (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

North Carolina Supreme Court

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Incumbent Allison Riggs (D) defeated Jefferson Griffin (R) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Allison Riggs (D)	50.0	2,770,412
		Jefferson Griffin (R)	50.0	2,769,678

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,540,090
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court

Incumbent Allison Riggs (D) defeated Lora Cubbage (D) in the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Allison Riggs	69.1	450,268
		Lora Cubbage	30.9	201,336

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 651,604
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 5, 2024, was canceled. Jefferson Griffin (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2022

Seat 5

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Trey Allen (R) defeated incumbent Sam Ervin IV (D) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Allen (R)	52.2	1,957,440
		Sam Ervin IV (D)	47.8	1,792,873

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,750,313
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for May 17, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Sam Ervin IV (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court

Trey Allen (R) defeated April C. Wood (R) and Victoria Prince (R) in the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Allen	55.4	385,124
		April C. Wood	36.3	252,504
	Submit photo	Victoria Prince	8.3	57,672

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 695,300
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Seat 3

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Richard Dietz (R) defeated Lucy N. Inman (D) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Richard Dietz (R)	52.4	1,965,840
		Lucy N. Inman (D)	47.6	1,786,650

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,752,490
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for May 17, 2022, was canceled. Lucy N. Inman (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for May 17, 2022, was canceled. Richard Dietz (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2020

Chief Justice

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Paul Martin Newby (R) defeated incumbent Cheri Beasley (D) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Martin Newby (R)	50.0	2,695,951
		Cheri Beasley (D)	50.0	2,695,550

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,391,501
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Cheri Beasley (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Paul Martin Newby (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Seat 2

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Phil Berger Jr. (R) defeated Lucy N. Inman (D) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Phil Berger Jr. (R)	50.7	2,723,704
		Lucy N. Inman (D)	49.3	2,652,187

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,375,891
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Lucy N. Inman (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Phil Berger Jr. (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Seat 4

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Tamara Barringer (R) defeated incumbent Mark A. Davis (D) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tamara Barringer (R)	51.2	2,746,362
		Mark A. Davis (D)	48.8	2,616,265

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,362,627
= 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.

Democratic primary

The Democratic primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Incumbent Mark A. Davis (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

Republican primary

The Republican primary scheduled for March 3, 2020, was canceled. Tamara Barringer (R) advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Supreme Court without appearing on the ballot.

North Carolina Supreme Court

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2018

General election

General election for North Carolina Supreme Court

Anita Earls (D) defeated incumbent Barbara Jackson (R) and Chris Anglin (R) in the general election for North Carolina Supreme Court on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anita Earls (D)	49.6	1,812,751
		Barbara Jackson (R)	34.1	1,246,263
		Chris Anglin (R)	16.4	598,753

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,657,767 (100% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Previous election results

2016

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2016

In June 2015, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed into law a bill requiring sitting justices on the North Carolina Supreme Court to seek re-election in retention elections rather than in nonpartisan competitive elections, effective in 2016. The law specified that for a sitting justice to be re-elected, he or she must receive at least 50% "yes" votes in a yes-no retention election.

In March 2016, however, a three-judge panel of Wake County Superior Court judges ruled this law unconstitutional, stating that "a retention election is not an 'election' for the office of supreme court justice as required by the constitution."

The state appealed the ruling to the North Carolina Supreme Court. On April 13, 2016, the court heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the retention election law. Justice Robert H. Edmunds Jr. was recused from hearing the case, as he planned to seek re-election in 2016. On May 6, the remaining justices split 3-3 on the question, and therefore the lower court's ruling, overturning the law, was upheld.

Three challengers filed to run in a contested election against Edmunds, including attorney Sabra Faires, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Because there were more than two candidates, a primary election was required. North Carolina's regularly scheduled primary was held March 15, in the wake of the ruling striking down the retention law and before any provision could be made for a contested judicial election. The state elections board set a special primary for June 7. Edmunds and challenger Michael R. Morgan finished first and second, respectively, of the four candidates. Morgan defeated Edmunds in the November 8 general election.

November 8 general election

Michael R. Morgan defeated incumbent Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. in the general election for the North Carolina Supreme Court, Seat 2.

North Carolina Supreme Court, Seat 2, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Michael R. Morgan	54.47%	2,157,927
Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. Incumbent	45.53%	1,803,425
Total Votes (2,704 of 2,704: 100%)		3,961,352
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results

June 7 primary

North Carolina Supreme Court Primary, Seat 2, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. Incumbent	48.01%	235,405
Michael R. Morgan	34.36%	168,498
Sabra Jean Faires	12.04%	59,040
Daniel G. Robertson	5.59%	27,401
Total Votes (2710 of 2710 precincts reporting: 100%)		490,344
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections Official Results

2014

See also: North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2014

Chief Justice

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MartinMark Martin (North Carolina)A	Yes		72.2%   A
LewisOla M. Lewis	No		27.8%   D

Hudson Seat

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
DoranJeanette Kathleen Doran	No	20.9%
HudsonRobin HudsonA	Yes	42.5%A	52.5%   A
LevinsonEric L. Levinson	No	36.6%A	47.5%   D

Martin Seat

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HunterRobert N. Hunter, Jr.	Yes		47.4%   D
ErvinSam ErvinA	No		52.6%   A

Beasley Seat

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
BeasleyCheri BeasleyA	Yes		50.1%   A
RobinsonMichael L. Robinson	No		49.9%   File:Red x.svgD

2012

See also: North Carolina judicial elections, 2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Election Vote
NewbyPaul Martin Newby   A	Yes	51.9%   A
ErvinSam Ervin	No	48.1%   A

2010

See also: State supreme court elections, 2010

Barbara Jackson defeated Robert C. Hunter with 51.9% of the vote. Incumbent Edward Thomas Brady did not run for re-election.

Supreme Court of North Carolina 2010 General election results

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Barbara Jackson	1,043,850	51.9%
Robert C. Hunter	969,019	48.1

2008

See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

Incumbent Robert Edmunds defeated challenger Suzanne Reynolds.

Supreme Court of North Carolina2008 General election results

Candidate	Votes	Percent
Robert Edmunds	1,577,419	51.0%
Suzanne Reynolds	1,515,345	49.0%

2006

In the general election held November 7 ,2006, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Sarah Parker ran against W. Russell Duke Jr., a senior resident superior court judge for the 3A Judicial District, for the office of chief justice of the supreme court. Parker won the seat. Incumbent Justice Mark Martin successfully ran against Rachel Lea Hunter, an attorney in private practice, to keep his seat on the court. Incumbent Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson successfully ran against Eric L. Levinson, an associate judge for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, to keep her seat on the court. Finally, Ann Calabria, a North Carolina Court of Appeals judge, ran against Robin Hudson, also a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, for the office of former Associate Justice George L. Wainwright. Hudson won the seat.

Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
Sarah Parker ApprovedA	No	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Nonpartisan	1,138,346	66.7%
W. Russell Duke Jr.	No	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Nonpartisan	568,980	33.3%
Mark Martin ApprovedA	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Martin Seat	Nonpartisan	1,000,792	62.5%
Rachel Lea Hunter	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Martin Seat	Nonpartisan	601,676	37.5%
Patricia Timmons-Goodson ApprovedA	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Timmons-Goodson Seat	Nonpartisan	953,976	58.3%
Eric L. Levinson	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Timmons-Goodson Seat	Nonpartisan	682,641	41.7%
Ann Calabria	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Wainwright Seat	Nonpartisan	786,310	49.4%
Robin Hudson ApprovedA	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Wainwright Seat	Nonpartisan	806,861	50.6&

2004

In the general election held on November 2, 2004, incumbent Justice Sarah Parker, ran against John Marsh Tyson, a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, to keep her seat on the court. Parker won the election.

Eight candidates vied for the office of former Associate Justice Robert Orr: Paul Martin Newby, an assistant United States attorney; James Wynn, a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals; Rachel Lea Hunter, a private practice attorney; Howard Manning Jr., a superior court judge for the 10th Judicial District; Betsy McCrodden, a private practice attorney; James Ansley, also a private practice attorney; Fred Morrison, Jr., a senior administrative law judge for the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings; and finally, Marvin Schiller, another attorney in private practice. Paul Martin Newby won the seat.

Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
Sarah Parker ApprovedA	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Parker Seat	Nonpartisan	1,732,399	63.9%
John Marsh Tyson	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Parker Seat	Nonpartisan	977,861	36.1%
Paul Martin Newby ApprovedA	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	582,684	22.6%
James Wynn	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	508,416	19.7%
Rachel Lea Hunter	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	452,298	17.5%
Howard Manning Jr.	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	312,319	12.1%
Betsy McCrodden	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	281,777	10.9%
James Ansley	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	213,657	8.3%
Fred Morrison, Jr.	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	163,601	6.4%
Marvin Schiller	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Nonpartisan	64,824	2.5%

2002

In the general election held on November 5, 2002, incumbent Justice G.K. Butterfield ran against Edward Thomas Brady, an attorney in private practice, to defend his seat and remain on the court. Brady won the election. Incumbent Justice Robert F. Orr successfully ran against Bob Hunter, a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, to keep his seat on the court.

Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
G.K. Butterfield	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Butterfield Seat	Democratic	992,603	46.1%
Edward Thomas Brady ApprovedA	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Butterfield Seat	Republican	1,159,476	53.9%
Robert F. Orr ApprovedA	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Republican	1,189,751	54.6%
Bob Hunter	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Orr Seat	Democratic	987,447	45.4%

2000

In the general election held November 7, 2000, incumbent Chief Justice Henry E. Frye challenged I. Beverly Lake, an associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, for the office of chief justice of the court. Lake won the election. Incumbent Justice Franklin Freeman ran against Robert H. Edmunds, Jr., a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, to keep his seat on the court. Edmunds won the election.

Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
Henry E. Frye	Yes	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Democratic	1,375,820	48.6%
I. Beverly Lake ApprovedA	No	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Republican	1,453,039	51.4%
Franklin Freeman	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Freeman Seat	Democratic	1,328,623	48.0%
Robert H. Edmunds, Jr. ApprovedA	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Freeman Seat	Republican	1,436,510	52.0%

1998

In the general election on November 3, 1998, appointed incumbent Justice James Wynn ran against George L. Wainwright for the seat of former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Webb. Wainwright won the election. North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Mark Martin ran against Jim Martin, a district court judge for the 3A Judicial District, for the seat of former Associate Justice Willis Wichard. Mark Martin won the election.

Candidate	Incumbent	Seat	Party	Election votes	Election %
James Wynn	Yes	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Webb Seat	Democratic	929,761	49.9%
George L. Wainwright A	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Webb Seat	Republican	933,692	50.1%
Mark Martin ApprovedA	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Webb Seat	Republican	1,127,779	58.7%
Jim Martin	No	Supreme Court Associate Justice, Webb Seat	Democratic	792,908	41.3%

1996

In the general election held on November 5, 1996, North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Jackson ran against Robert C. Hunter, also a judge for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, for the seat of former Supreme Court Associate Justice Edward Thomas Brady. Jackson won the election.

See also

North Carolina	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in North Carolina North Carolina Court of Appeals North Carolina Supreme Court	Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in North Carolina	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• North Carolina State Board of Elections
• Follow The Money: National Institute on Money in State Politics