North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2026
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The terms of three North Carolina intermediate appellate court judges will expire on December 31, 2026. The three seats are up for partisan election on November 3, 2026. The primary is March 3, 2026, and a primary runoff is May 12, 2026. The filing deadline was December 19, 2025.
Candidates and results
Seat 1
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1
Incumbent John S. Arrowood is running in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | John S. Arrowood (D) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent John S. Arrowood advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1
Michael Byrne and Matt Smith are running in the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Michael Byrne | ||
| Matt Smith | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Seat 2
General election
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2
Incumbent Toby Hampson and George Bell 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. | ||||
| 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 election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Toby Hampson advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. George Bell advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 2.
Seat 3
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3
Craig Collins is running in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Craig Collins (R) | |
| ||||
| = 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 election
Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3
Christine Walczyk and James Whalen are running in the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Christine Walczyk | ||
| James Whalen | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Craig Collins advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 3.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in North Carolina
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Selection
The 15 judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals are chosen through partisan elections. Judges are elected to eight-year terms and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[1] These elections were nonpartisan from 2004 until a law passed in 2016 made them partisan again, beginning in 2018.
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.[2]
Chief judge
The chief judge of the court of appeals is selected by the chief justice of the supreme court to serve indefinitely.[3]
Vacancies
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 judge was affiliated.[4] An election is then held for a full eight-year term.[5][1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | School of Government, "History of North Carolina Judicial Elections," August 2020
- ↑ North Carolina Judicial Branch, "Judicial Qualifications Summary," September 28, 2016
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: North Carolina," accessed September 20, 2021
- ↑ Ballotpedia Election Administration Legislation Tracker, "North Carolina S382," accessed December 19, 2024
- ↑ North Carolina General Assembly, "North Carolina Constitution - Article IV," accessed September 20, 2021 (Section 19)
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
