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North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2014

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Election highlights

The Supreme Court of North Carolina, which went into the November election with a 5-2 Republican majority, gained one Democratic justice in 2014. Sam Ervin defeated Robert N. Hunter, Jr., and Republican candidate Michael Robinson lost to incumbent Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat.[1]

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Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections


Results

General election results:

Chief Justice seat
Candidate Vote %
Mark Martin Button-Red.svg72.3%
Ola M. Lewis Button-Red.svg27.7%
100% of precincts reporting[2]
Incumbent Sarah Parker
Winner Mark Martin


Martin seat
Candidate Vote %
Robert N. Hunter, Jr. Button-Red.svg47.4%
Sam Ervin Button-Blue.svg52.6%
100% of precincts reporting[3]
Incumbent Mark Martin (Robert Hunter temporarily appointed)
Winner Sam Ervin


Beasley seat
Candidate Vote %
Cheri Beasley Button-Blue.svg50.1%
Michael L. Robinson Button-Red.svg49.9%
100% of precincts reporting[4]
Incumbent Cheri Beasley
Winner Cheri Beasley


Hudson seat
Candidate Vote %
Robin Hudson Button-Blue.svg52.4%
Eric L. Levinson Button-Red.svg47.6%
100% of precincts reporting[5]
Incumbent Robin Hudson
Winner Robin Hudson

Partisan stakes

North Carolina's judicial elections are technically nonpartisan. However, it is a state where political parties may publicly endorse candidates. The Supreme Court of North Carolina had five Republicans and two Democrats on its bench in 2014. In 2014, four seats were up for election, so a majority of the seven-member court was up for grabs.

Three Democratic seats and one Republican seat were initially up for election in 2014. Two of those seats--the chief justice position and Justice Martin's open seat--were given new, Republican incumbents due 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 ran for a full term in 2014). Going into the November elections, two seats were occupied by Republicans and two by Democrats.

A partisan flip was not possible, even though a majority of the court's seats were up for election. Because Democrats did not run a candidate for chief justice, they were not able to win four seats.

At the time of the election, the GOP held the governorship, a majority in both legislative houses and a majority on the supreme court in North Carolina. This is referred to as a trifecta plus by Ballotpedia. More information on state government trifectas is available here: Ballotpedia: State government trifectas.

Blue represents the Democratic Party, red represents the Republican Party and gray represents another, minor party.

Seats not up for election

Justices:

On the ballot: Chief Justice (Parker) seat

2014 candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court
Chief Justice
Ola M. Lewis 
Ola-M-Lewis.jpg
Incumbent: No
Party: Republican
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 27.8%DefeatedA
Mark Martin (North Carolina) 
MMartinNC.jpg
Incumbent: Yes
Party:
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 72.2%ApprovedA

Chief Justice Sarah Parker's retirement initially left the chief justice seat on the court vacant. As of 2014, North Carolina was one of just seven states where the chief justice is chosen by voters.[6]


In August, Mark Martin, a Republican, was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory to temporarily fill the chief justice role until the election. This gave him incumbency going into the November election.[7]

Martin won election to the court in 1998 and was re-elected in 2006. He was endorsed by the North Carolina Republican Party, but also had endorsements by all five of the living chief justices of the state's supreme court--three of whom are Democrats.[8][9]


The challenger in this race was Judge Ola M. Lewis. She was a senior resident superior court judge for the 13th Judicial District in Brunswick County. By the general election, Lewis had been a Republican since 2003 though she was formerly registered with the Democratic party.[10][11][8]


Former Chief Justice Parker reached the mandatory retirement age of 72, so she was not eligible to run for re-election. She served on the state's high court since 1992 and became its chief justice in 2006. She was a registered Democrat and had been supported in the past by the Democratic Party.[12]

On the ballot: Martin seat

2014 candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court
Martin Seat
Sam Ervin 
Ervin.jpg
Incumbent: No
Party:
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 52.6%ApprovedA
Robert N. Hunter, Jr. 
Nhunter.jpg
Incumbent: Yes
Party: Republican
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 47.4%DefeatedA

Mark Martin's term ended in 2014. However, he was appointed to the chief justice seat vacated by Parker, and ran for election to a full term in that role, as explained above. His seat as an associate justice was available.

Sam Ervin was elected to Martin's seat in 2014. Ervin, a Democrat, lost his bid for Justice Paul Martin Newby's seat in 2012.

Ervin's colleague on the bench, Republican Robert N. Hunter, Jr., also ran for Martin's seat. At the time of the election, Ervin and Hunter both served on the court of appeals. In August 2014, Hunter was appointed to the seat on the supreme court by Governor Pat McCrory, giving him incumbency.[13][14][7]

On the ballot: Beasley seat

2014 candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court
Beasley Seat
Michael L. Robinson 
Mike-Robinson.jpg
Incumbent: No
Party: Republican
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 49.9%DefeatedA
Cheri Beasley 
Cheri Beasley 2.jpg
Incumbent: Yes
Party:
Primary vote: n/a
Election vote: 50.1%ApprovedA

Near the end of her term as governor, in 2012, Bev Perdue appointed Cheri Beasley to the court. Beasley, a Democrat, was elected to a full term on the court in 2014. Ola M. Lewis originally announced plans to run for this seat but ran for the chief justice seat instead. Beasley defeated Michael Robinson in the election, a partner at the law firm of Robinson & Lawing, LLP.[11][14][15][16]

On the ballot: Hudson seat

2014 candidates for the North Carolina Supreme Court
Hudson Seat
Robin Hudson 
RHudsonNC.jpg
Incumbent: Yes
Party:
Primary vote: 42.5%ApprovedA
Election vote: 52.5%ApprovedA
Jeanette Kathleen Doran 
Jeanette-Kathleen-Doran.jpg
Incumbent: No
Party: Republican
Primary vote: 20.9%DefeatedA
Election vote:  
Eric L. Levinson 
Eric-Levinson.jpg
Incumbent: No
Party: Republican
Primary vote: 36.6%ApprovedA
Election vote: 47.5%DefeatedA

Incumbent Robin Hudson won a second term on the court in 2014. She previously won election to the court for the first time in 2006. She filed for re-election on February 20, 2014. Hudson, a Democrat, was the only incumbent who had to run in the primary on May 6.[17][10]

Republican Eric L. Levinson ran for this seat. At the time of the election, Levinson was a judge for the 26th Judicial District in Mecklenburg County.[14]

Jeanette Doran competed for Hudson's seat, but was eliminated in the primary (see below).[18]

This was the only supreme court race in North Carolina that included a primary election. That election was held on May 6, 2014.

Political composition

VOTE.png

Republican control

Governor McCrory's appointments of fellow Republicans Mark Martin and Bob Hunter to supreme court seats in August 2014 granted them incumbency. Republicans in North Carolina, in addition to the seat of the governor, also had a majority in both legislative houses, as well as on the supreme court. This is called a trifecta plus, and allows one party, in this case the GOP, to monopolize the law-making process.

Race-by-race

  • Going into the race for chief justice, Mark Martin, a Republican, was already a sitting justice of the supreme court. In August, he was appointed by Governor Pat McCrory to the seat for which he was running--that of chief justice. The seat was vacated by Chief Justice Sarah Parker, who was considered a Democrat. The other candidate, Ola M. Lewis, was a senior resident superior court judge in the 13th District. Martin won election.
  • In the race to replace Justice Martin were two colleagues from the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Sam Ervin, the Democratic candidate, ran in a 2012 supreme court race where he was defeated by incumbent Justice Paul Martin Newby. Ervin's opponent, Bob Hunter, was appointed to the supreme court seat by the governor in August, giving him incumbency. Hunter transitioned from his post on the court of appeals to the supreme court in early September. Ervin won election.

Campaign finance

Emblem-money.png

Over $1 million spent on TV ads

About a month before the November 4 election, Justice at Stake reported that candidates in North Carolina's supreme court races had spent over $1 million on TV ads. The numbers were based on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reports as of October 4, 2014. According to the report, Ola M. Lewis, Cheri Beasley and Robin Hudson were the only candidates who had not purchased such ads.[20]

Justice for All NC, a group that supports the conservative candidates, received $1.3 million from the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national group seeking to promote conservative candidates. Justice for All aired ads opposing Justice Robin Hudson in the primary and an ad supporting candidate Mike Robinson before the general election.[21]

Changes in campaign finance laws

Campaign finance laws were amended by the General Assembly and scheduled to go into effect in time to impact the supreme court and court of appeals election races in 2014. Some of these changes included:

  • No more public financing for judicial candidates. Candidates who qualified used to receive $250,000 to finance their campaigns. All 8 candidates for statewide judicial offices qualified for public financing in 2012. Most of the funding came from voluntary fees.
  • The amount an individual donor may contribute to a judicial candidate increased from $1,000 to $5,000.
  • No limits on the amount an individual could donate to independent organizations which may use the money to promote or attack candidates.
  • Candidates no longer had to appear in an ad to say they approved it or list their top five donors in print ads.[22][23]

Hudson seat primary draws donors

In the primary race for Justice Hudson's seat, businesses such as Reynolds American, Koch Industries and various Blue Cross Blue Shield groups helped fund Hudson's opposition. Two groups in particular have used those funds to try to unseat Hudson in the primary. The North Carolina Chamber had, as of April 30, put $225,000 into TV ads supporting Doran and Levinson. The group Justice for All NC was airing ads opposing Hudson.[24]

On April 25, Justice for All NC reported a donation of $650,000 by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). Also, as of late April, they had spent $497,000 on TV ads.[25][26][27]

Contributions

Total reported contributions to candidate campaign committees:[28]

Chief Justice (Parker) seat:

Candidate Total contributions
Mark Martin $670,675.48[29][30][31][32][33][34]
Ola M. Lewis$216,295.27[35][36][37][38]

Martin seat:

Candidate Total contributions
Sam Ervin $688,701.58[39][40][41][42][43]
Robert N. Hunter, Jr.$407,003.45[44][45][46][47][48][49][50]

Beasley seat:

Candidate Total contributions
Cheri Beasley $365,534.18[51][52][53][54]
Michael L. Robinson$395,586.82[55][56][57][58][59]

Hudson seat:

Candidate Total contributions
Robin Hudson $743,270.49[60][61][62][63][64][65]
Eric Lee Levinson$566,844.41[66][67][68][69][70]
Jeanette Kathleen Doran$11,991.34[71]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ News & Observer, "Recount confirms Beasley's win in NC Supreme Court race," November 24, 2014
  2. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Statewide General Election Results 2014," November 4, 2014
  3. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Statewide General Election Results 2014," November 4, 2014
  4. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Statewide General Election Results 2014," November 4, 2014
  5. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial Statewide General Election Results 2014," November 4, 2014
  6. ↑ Judgepedia: Judicial Selection in North Carolina
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Associated Press, WRAL.com, "Retirements bring change to NC courts, elections," August 23, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Charlotte Observer, "Candidates jockey for state’s highest courts in critical election year," January 3, 2014
  9. ↑ Martin for Chief Justice, "About Mark," accessed January 15, 2014
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Candidate list grouped by contest, May 6, 2014 Primary," accessed March 21, 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "primarylist" defined multiple times with different content
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 News & Observer, "Under the Dome Blog: Justice Beasley will run for her seat in 2014," September 18, 2013
  12. ↑ News & Observer, "Under the dome, biography of Sarah Parker," March 26, 2007
  13. ↑ News & Observer, "Judge Ervin will run again for Supreme Court," August 27, 2013
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 NC Policy Watch, "Kicking off the state supreme court elections," February 5, 2014
  15. ↑ WWAY Channel 3, "First on 3: Judge Ola Lewis to run for supreme court, appear on Fox News tonight," June 21, 2013
  16. ↑ Robinson & Lawing, LLP, "Partners, Michael Robinson," accessed March 21, 2014
  17. ↑ Greensboro News & Record, "Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson, a Page grad, announces re-election run," October 24, 2013
  18. ↑ The Progressive Pulse," "State supreme court race heating up," February 26, 2014
  19. ↑ Lady Liberty 1885, "The NC Supreme Court races," April 14, 2014
  20. ↑ Justice at Stake, "Candidate spending in North Carolina Supreme Court election soars past $1 million," October 7, 2014
  21. ↑ Justice at Stake, "Surge of last minute outside spending hits State Supreme Court Races," October 30, 2014
  22. ↑ Huffington Post, "North Carolina legislature repeals popular 'Voter Owned Elections' program," July 26, 2013
  23. ↑ WRAL.com, "Voting changes head to governor," July 26, 2013
  24. ↑ NC Capitol, "Big business spends to unseat NC Supreme Court Justice Hudson," April 30, 2014
  25. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "48-Hour Notice, Justice for All NC disclosure report," April 25, 2014
  26. ↑ Gavel Grab, "JAS: ‘Big-spending circus’ looms in N.C. court election," April 28, 2014
  27. ↑ NC Policy Watch, "Kicking off the state supreme court elections," February 5, 2014
  28. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed February 2, 2015
  29. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice 1st quarter disclosure report," April 29, 2014
  30. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 21, 2014
  31. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice disclosure report," October 22, 2014
  32. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice disclosure report," October 23, 2014
  33. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice third quarter disclosure report," October 28, 2014
  34. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Martin for Chief Justice third quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  35. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Committee to Elect Judge Ola M. Lewis Supreme Court 1st quarter disclosure report," April 28, 2014
  36. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Committee to Elect Judge Ola M. Lewis Supreme Court 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 10, 2014
  37. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Committee to Elect Judge Ola M. Lewis Supreme Court 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 28, 2014
  38. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Committee to Elect Judge Ola M. Lewis Supreme Court 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  39. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Ervin for Supreme Court 1st quarter disclosure report," April 29, 2014
  40. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Ervin for Supreme Court 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 10, 2014
  41. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Ervin for Supreme Court disclosure report," October 21, 2014
  42. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Ervin for Supreme Court 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 28, 2014
  43. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Ervin for Supreme Court 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  44. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice 1st quarter disclosure report," April 29, 2014
  45. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 18, 2014
  46. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice disclosure report," October 21, 2014
  47. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice disclosure report," October 23, 2014
  48. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice disclosure report," October 24, 2014
  49. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 28, 2014
  50. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Bob Hunter for Justice 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  51. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Justice Cheri Beasley Committee 1st quarter disclosure report," April 21, 2014
  52. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Justice Cheri Beasley Committee 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 9, 2014
  53. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Justice Cheri Beasley Committee 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 27, 2014
  54. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Justice Cheri Beasley Committee 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  55. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Michael Robinson for NC Supreme Court 1st quarter disclosure report," April 28, 2014
  56. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Michael Robinson for NC Supreme Court 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 9, 2014
  57. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Michael Robinson for NC Supreme Court disclosure report," October 21, 2014
  58. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Michael Robinson for NC Supreme Court 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 28, 2014
  59. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Michael Robinson for NC Supreme Court 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2015
  60. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson 1st quarter disclosure report," April 28, 2014
  61. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson 2nd quarter disclosure report," August 29, 2014
  62. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson disclosure report," October 22, 2014
  63. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson disclosure report," October 23, 2014
  64. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 27, 2014
  65. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Re-elect Justice Hudson 4th quarter disclosure report," January 12, 2014
  66. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Levinson Comm. 1st quarter disclosure report," April 28, 2014
  67. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Levinson Comm. 2nd quarter disclosure report," July 10, 2014
  68. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Levinson Comm. disclosure report," October 24, 2014
  69. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Levinson Comm. 3rd quarter disclosure report," October 29, 2014
  70. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Levinson Comm. 4th quarter disclosure report," January 14, 2015
  71. ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Jeanette Doran for Justice mid-year semi-annual disclosure report," August 3, 2014
v • e
Judicial elections, 2014

North Carolina courts

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

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