Democrats will be forced to defend nearly all their seats on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of North Carolina during the 2026 elections.
Republican justices currently outnumber Democratic justices 5-2 on the Supreme Court and 12-3 on the Court of Appeals. All three Democratic seats on the Court of Appeals and one of the two Democratic seats on the Supreme Court will be on the ballot in 2026.
Anita Earls — a current Supreme Court justice, former civil rights attorney, and founder of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice — has served on the court since 2019. She officially announced on May 30 that she is seeking re-election in 2026. Earls announced in early January that she is being treated for breast cancer, but she says it will not prevent her from continuing in her campaign for reelection.
Legislator and attorney Sarah Stevens, a Republican from state House District 90, announced her intention to challenge Earls in April 2025. Stevens has served nine terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives and chairs the House Judiciary Committee II and the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee. Stevens is an alumna of Campbell Law School, the second woman to serve as House speaker pro tempore, and a career family law attorney.
“I will be a conservative voice for justice and families on the Supreme Court,” Stevens said in a press release following her candidacy announcement. “My experience as a family law attorney and a state legislator has prepared me to be a voice for those who cannot advocate for themselves.”
Stevens faced controversy after receiving a $6,800 contribution from lobbyist Harold Brubaker and a $1,500 contribution from lobbyist Andy Munn. After allegations that the contributions violated laws prohibiting lobbyists from donating to sitting legislators, Stevens returned the money.
Only Earls’ seat is up for election on the Supreme Court bench. In 2028, three Republican justices are up for re-election. If Democrats can defend Earls’ seat, they could retake control of the court by winning two or more of the 2028 races.
At the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Judge John Arrowood (Seat 1) and Judge Toby Hampson (Seat 2), both Democrats, are seeking re-election. Democratic Judge Allegra Collins (Seat 3) announced earlier this year that she would not run again.
Challenging Arrowood in Seat 1 are two Republicans — Matt Smith and Michael Byrne. Smith, from Union County, was elected to the District Court judge in 2020 then a Superior Court judge in 2022. Byrne, according to his website, has had “decades of trial work: 272 cases as a lawyer in the Office of Administrative Hearings and more than 20 cases in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court,” and has had almost 400 decisions in more than five years as an Administrative Law Judge.”
Only one Republican is challenging Hampson in Seat 2, Judge George Bell. Bell is a Superior Court judge for District 26C.
Seeking Democrat Allegra Collins’ Seat 3 are Judge Christine Walczyk and attorney James Whalen, both Democrats, and Republican Craig Collins. Collins is currently a District Court judge in district 27A and is from Gaston County.
According to her campaign website, Walczyk has been a District Court judge in Wake County for 18 years. At the court, she serves as lead judge in the general civil court and previously as lead judge in Family Court. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and serves as chair of the Judicial Division of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.
Whalen has been involved with judicial election issues. He recently defended Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs in court after Republican challenger Judge Jefferson Griffon contested more than 60,000 votes in their 2024 election. After graduating from the UNC-CH law school, Whalen handled appeals in former Attorney General Josh Stein’s Department of Justice and now works on “appellate cases and democratic causes” in private practice.
Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst for the John Locke Foundation, notes how the full 2026 electorate will influence the statewide judicial contests.
“The statewide judicial elections are likely to follow the general mood of the voters in 2026,” Kokai said. “The last three election cycles have been excellent for Republicans, but the seats up for grabs next year are the ones that Democrats captured in 2018. Republicans are on offense, and Democrats are on defense in these races.”
“It would be hard for the Republican Party to win these seats if Democrats are having a stronger than normal year,” he added.
Editor’s note: In the print edition of this article, not all candidates were included as the filing window was still open. Judge Michael Byrne, running for Seat 1 as a Republican, was left out.