State supreme court elections, 2014

2014 Elections: What's at Stake?

Table of Contents

Return to top • Twitter Feed Contested partisan races • Contested nonpartisan races • Uncontested races • Retention races • Ballotpedia

Judgepedia's extensive coverage of state judicial races in 2014 included notable state supreme court races. Some highlights:

• Michigan: Neither party gained or lost seats, as two Republican incumbents were re-elected and a Democratic candidate filled the seat of a former Democratic justice.
• North Carolina: With the re-election of justices Cheri Beasley and Robin Hudson, along with Sam Ervin's election, Democrats picked up a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
• In Ohio and Texas, no Republican seats in 2014 turned blue.
• Montana's incumbents prevailed.

Breakdown of supreme court elections

2014 Elections: What's At Stake?

Ballotpedia Fast Facts: Brittany Clingen details what's at stake in the November election.

2014 Election Coverage

Our sister site, Ballotpedia, will provide real-time updates on election night. For a list of election coverage pages click here.

United States Senate • United States House • Trifectas and state government control • State legislatures • State executives • Ballot measures • State courts • School boards • Municipal elections

In more than two-thirds of the country, voters had the opportunity to select members of the state supreme courts in 2014. Below is the breakdown of supreme court races on November 4, 2014:

States with supreme court elections: 22

• States with retention elections: 9
• Number of retention races: 20
• States with contested partisan elections: 4
• Number of contested partisan elections: 15 (16 seats)
• States with contested nonpartisan elections: 4
• Number of contested nonpartisan elections: 7
• States with uncontested races: 7
• Number of uncontested races: 12

In all, 55 supreme court seats were decided on November 4th. Of these, 32 were uncontested or retention elections. Twenty-three races, or 42%, were contested on November 4th.

Twitter feed updates

Tweets by @judgepedia

Contested partisan races

2014 Elections: What's at Stake?

Table of Contents

Return to top • Twitter Feed Contested partisan races • Contested nonpartisan races • Uncontested races • Retention races • Ballotpedia

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

Michigan Supreme Court

See Michigan Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

The Michigan Supreme Court had five Republicans and two Democrats on its bench going into the 2014 elections. This situation remained, as there were two Republican victories and one Democratic victory on November 4. Republican justices Viviano and Zahra kept their seats, while Democrat Richard Bernstein picked up a win for the seat previously held by Democratic Justice Michael Cavanagh. This was a state where the partisan balance could have flipped, but those Democratic hopes were ended with Republican Justice David Viviano's victory.

8-year term (2 seats)
Candidate	Vote %
Brian Zahra	32%
James Robert Redford	20.6%
Richard Bernstein	28.7%
William B. Murphy	14.1%
Doug Dern	4.5%
100% of counties reporting
Incumbents	Michael Cavanagh
	Brian Zahra
Winners	Richard Bernstein
	Brian Zahra

2-year term
Candidate	Vote %
David Viviano	61.7%
Deborah Thomas	28.7%
Kerry L. Morgan	9.6%
100% of counties reporting
Incumbent	David Viviano
Winner	David Viviano

North Carolina Supreme Court

See North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

North Carolina's judicial elections are technically nonpartisan. However, political parties may publicly endorse candidates. The Supreme Court of North Carolina had five Republicans and two Democrats on its bench going into Election Day. In 2014, four seats were up for election, meaning that 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. Governor Pat McCrory appointed two new Republican justices to the chief justice position and Justice Martin's open seat in August 2014. That resulted in the chief justice position changing from a Democratic incumbent (recently retired Sarah Parker) to a Republican incumbent, Mark Martin. Martin sought a full term in November. Thus, two contested seats became 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 it would have required Democrats to win all four seats. With Democrats winning all three seats in which they participated, the inclusion of a Democrat in the race for chief justice could have given the party control of the supreme court.

Chief Justice seat
Candidate	Vote %
Mark Martin	72.3%
Ola M. Lewis	27.7%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Sarah Parker
Winner	Mark Martin

Martin seat
Candidate	Vote %
Robert N. Hunter, Jr.	47.4%
Sam Ervin	52.6%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Mark Martin (Robert Hunter temporarily appointed)
Winner	Sam Ervin

Beasley seat
Candidate	Vote %
Cheri Beasley	50.1%
Michael L. Robinson	49.9%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Cheri Beasley
Winner	Cheri Beasley

Hudson seat
Candidate	Vote %
Robin Hudson	52.4%
Eric L. Levinson	47.6%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Robin Hudson
Winner	Robin Hudson

Ohio Supreme Court

See Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

Though Ohio holds nonpartisan general elections, its primaries are partisan, so the political affiliations of judicial candidates are commonly known. The Ohio Supreme Court had six Republicans and one Democrat on its bench before the election. Two Republican seats were up for election, but with solid leads by Republican incumbent justices Judith French and Sharon L. Kennedy, the Ohio Supreme Court was expected to remain almost all red.

French seat
Candidate	Vote %
Judith French	56.0%
John P. O'Donnell	44.0%
99.87% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Judith French
Winner	Judith French

Kennedy seat
Candidate	Vote %
Sharon L. Kennedy	72.6%
Tom Letson	27.4%
99.87% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Sharon L. Kennedy
Winner	Sharon L. Kennedy

Texas Supreme Court

See Texas Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

The Texas Supreme Court has nine Republicans and no Democrats on its bench. Four Republican justices sought re-election in 2014. As the Judgepedia staff predicted, any Democratic victory would have been a unique outcome for this court. Republican candidates dominated all four races.

In the race for Place 6, Justice Jeff Brown was challenged by a judge of the state's other high court, Lawrence Meyers. Meyers had 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.

As of the latest campaign finance reports, both incumbents in the races below had received hundreds of thousands of dollars more in campaign contributions than their opponents.

Hecht seat (Chief Justice)
Candidate	Vote %
Nathan Hecht	59.6%
William Moody	37.3%
Tom Oxford	3.1%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Nathan Hecht
Winner	Nathan Hecht

Brown seat (Place 6)
Candidate	Vote %
Jeff Brown	60.4%
Lawrence Meyers	36.5%
Mark Ash	3.2%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Jeff Brown
Winner	Jeff Brown

Boyd seat (Place 6)
Candidate	Vote %
Jeff Boyd	58.9%
Gina Benavides	37.6%
Don Fulton	2.8%
Charles E. Waterbury	0.7%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Jeff Boyd
Winner	Jeff Boyd

Johnson seat (Place 8)
Candidate	Vote %
Phil Johnson	78.8%
RS Roberto Koelsch	12.0%
Jim Chisholm	9.3%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Phil Johnson
Winner	Phil Johnson

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

See Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

Although retirements put three races without incumbents on the 2014 ballot for this court, the only race with both a Republican and Democratic candidate in the general election was the race for Place 3. As expected, Republicans won all three seats on the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had eight Republicans and one Democrat on its bench. However, Judge Lawrence Meyers had only recently switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, so the GOP, in reality, held a monopoly on the court.

Price seat (Place 3)
Candidate	Vote %
Bert Richardson	59.9%
John Granberg	36.5%
Mark Bennett	3.6%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Tom Price
Winner	Bert Richardson

Womack seat (Place 4)
Candidate	Vote %
Kevin Patrick Yeary	76.3%
Quanah Parker	13.2%
Judith Sanders-Castro	10.4%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Paul Womack
Winner	Kevin Patrick Yeary

Cochran seat (Place 9)
Candidate	Vote %
David Newell	78.3%
William Bryan Strange	13.1%
George Joseph Altgelt	8.6%
98.75% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Cathy Cochran
Winner	David Newell

Contested nonpartisan races

2014 Elections: What's at Stake?

Table of Contents

Return to top • Twitter Feed Contested partisan races • Contested nonpartisan races • Uncontested races • Retention races • Ballotpedia

Arkansas Supreme Court

See Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of this race

Justice Donald Corbin decided to leave the bench for health reasons at the end of his term in 2014. Tim Cullen, a lawyer from Maumelle, filed to run for the seat but lost the election to Robin Wynne on May 20, 2014. Wynne, at the time of the election, served on the Arkansas Court of Appeals. He previously served as a county and city court judge.

Corbin seat (Position 2)
Candidate	Vote %
Robin Wynne	52.0%
Tim Cullen	48.0%
100% of counties reporting
Incumbent	Donald Corbin
Winner	Robin Wynne

Idaho Supreme Court

See Idaho Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of this race

Incumbent Joel Horton was opposed by William Seiniger in his bid for re-election. However, Horton successfully fended off Seiniger's challenge. He won the primary by 65.8 percent, allowing him to serve another six-year term on the court.

Horton seat
Candidate	Vote %
Joel Horton	65.8%
William Seiniger	34.2%
100% of counties reporting
Incumbent	Joel Horton
Winner	Joel Horton

Kentucky Supreme Court

See Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of this race

Incumbent Justice Michelle Keller faced Teresa L. Cunningham. Keller, who was appointed to the court by Governor Steve Beshear in 2013, was successful in her first election to retain the seat. Keller reported raising approximately $99,797 in campaign contributions, while Cunningham reported $13,767.

6th District
Candidate	Vote %
Michelle Keller	58.4%
Teresa L. Cunningham	41.6%
100% of counties reporting
Incumbent	Michelle Keller
Winner	Michelle Keller

Minnesota Supreme Court

See Minnesota Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

Justice Wilhelmina Wright faced John Hancock, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security. This was Wright's first election to the high court, following appointment in 2012, and she was re-elected. As of October 27, Hancock reported no funds raised, while Wright reported $70,413.

Seat 2
Candidate	Vote %
Wilhelmina Wright	56.8%
John Hancock	43.0%
98.98% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Wilhelmina Wright
Winner	Wilhelmina Wright

Justice David Lillehaug was appointed to the court by Governor Mark Dayton and faced a challenger in Michelle L. MacDonald. Lillehaug won in the general election. MacDonald was endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party, and has $315 reported as raised for her campaign.Justice Lillehaug has $84,414 as of October 27.

Seat 3
Candidate	Vote %
David Lillehaug	53.2%
Michelle L. MacDonald	46.5%
98.98% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	David Lillehaug
Winner	David Lillehaug

Montana Supreme Court

See Montana Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

Justice James Rice was re-elected over challenger W. David Herbert. In regards to campaign contributions Herbert reported $6,170 raised, while Rice reported total receipts of approximately $81,590.

Seat 1
Candidate	Vote %
W. David Herbert	21.6%
James Rice	78.3%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	James Rice
Winner	James Rice

Justice Mike Wheat was also re-elected. He was almost unopposed due to a question of challenger Lawrence VanDyke's eligibility earlier in the year. The state supreme court ultimately ruled that VanDyke could compete. VanDyke was supported by the Republican State Leadership Committee. VanDyke lost to incumbent Wheat.

Seat 2
Candidate	Vote %
Mike Wheat	59.1%
Lawrence VanDyke	40.9%
100% of precincts reporting
Incumbent	Mike Wheat
Winner	Mike Wheat

Washington Supreme Court

See Washington Supreme Court elections, 2014 for in-depth analysis of these races

Both incumbents in Washington were re-elected by large margins.

Position 4
Candidate	Vote %
Charles W. Johnson	73.8%
Eddie Yoon	26.2%
Incumbent	Charles W. Johnson
Winner	Charles W. Johnson

Position 7
Candidate	Vote %
Debra Stephens	78.1%
John Scannell	21.9%
Incumbent	Debra Stephens
Winner	Debra Stephens

Uncontested races

The following justices were automatically elected or re-elected after running unopposed in the general election.

2014 Elections: What's at Stake?

Table of Contents

Return to top • Twitter Feed Contested partisan races • Contested nonpartisan races • Uncontested races • Retention races • Ballotpedia

Alabama

• Incumbent Greg Shaw

Kentucky

• Incumbent Bill Cunningham, 1st District
• Incumbent John D. Minton, Jr., 2nd District
• Incumbent Lisabeth Tabor Hughes, 4th District

Louisiana

• Scott Crichton, 2nd District

Nevada

• Incumbent Kris Pickering, Seat B
• Incumbent Mark Gibbons, Seat D

North Dakota

• Incumbent Gerald VandeWalle

Oregon

• Incumbent Thomas Balmer, Position 1
• Incumbent Martha Walters, Position 7

Washington

• Incumbent Mary Yu, Position 1
• Incumbent Mary Fairhurst, Position 3

Retention races

In a retention election, incumbent justices do not compete against an opponent. Instead, voters choose whether to keep (or "retain") a judge with a simple yes or no vote.

Alaska

• Craig Stowers - 62.9% a

Arizona

• Scott Bales - 73.6% a
• Robert Brutinel - 73.4% a

California

• Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar - 67.7% a
• Goodwin Liu - 67.1% a
• Kathryn Mickle Werdegar - 72.6% a

Colorado

• Brian Boatright - 68.6% a
• Monica Márquez - 67.8% a

Illinois

• Lloyd Karmeier - 60.8% a

Indiana

• Loretta H. Rush - 69.0% a
• Mark S. Massa - 67.3% a

Oklahoma

• Tom Colbert - 62.6% a
• Joseph Watt - 59.9% a
• John Reif - 59.0% a

South Dakota

• David Gilbertson - 83.4% a
• Lori Wilbur - 82.2% a
• Steven Zinter - 81.8% a

Tennessee

• Gary R. Wade - 56.6% a
• Cornelia Clark - 55.3% a
• Sharon Lee - 56.0% a

Utah

• Thomas Rex Lee - 75.5% a
• Matthew Durrant - 77.6% a
• Christine Durham - 77.8% a

Ballotpedia

2014 Elections: What's at Stake?

Table of Contents

Return to top • Twitter Feed Contested partisan races • Contested nonpartisan races • Uncontested races • Retention races • Ballotpedia

Check out Ballotpedia's Election results, 2014 for up-to-date results for top races on your ballot!

See also

• Portal:Judicial elections
• Judicial ballot measures, 2014
• 2014 supreme court campaign spending

In-depth coverage by state

• Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Idaho Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Kentucky Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Michigan Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Minnesota Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Montana Supreme Court elections, 2014
• North Carolina Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Ohio Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2014 (retention)
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals elections, 2014
• Texas Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Washington Supreme Court elections, 2014