Several justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 5, 2002. Party primary elections were held on Sept. 10. This was the last year in which statewide judicial elections were partisan.
The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices has varied from time to time. The primary function of the Supreme Court is to decide questions of law that have arisen in the lower courts and before state administrative agencies.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1967 after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1965 which "authorized the creation of an intermediate court of appeals to relieve pressure on the North Carolina Supreme Court."
The result of the election was that all incumbent Democrats went down to defeat, and only one Democrat won a seat that was open (i.e. the incumbent chose not to run for another term).
Incumbent G. K. Butterfield, a Democrat, had been appointed by Gov. Mike Easley and faced election for the first time. He was defeated by attorney Edward Thomas Brady, a Republican.
George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. is an American politician serving as a U.S. Representative, first elected to Congress in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district is located in the northeastern corner of North Carolina, stretching from Durham to Elizabeth City and including all or parts of 24 counties. An African American and a longtime advocate on behalf of civil rights, Butterfield is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and served as its chair from 2015 to 2017.
Michael Francis Easley is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from January 2001 to January 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Easley was North Carolina's second Catholic governor. Thomas Burke was the first, though Easley is the first elected by popular vote.
Edward Thomas Brady is an American trial attorney and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He was elected in November 2002 as a Republican, defeating incumbent G. K. Butterfield. His term expired in January 2011 and he did not seek re-election in 2010. He was the last serving North Carolina Supreme Court justice to be elected in a partisan race. All judicial races in North Carolina became non-partisan as the result of the Judicial Campaign Reform Act signed into law by Governor Mike Easley on October 8, 2002.
In the Republican primary, Brady had defeated Judge Ralph A. Walker.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | G. K. Butterfield | 992,603 | 46.12 | ||
Republican | Edward Thomas Brady | 1,159,476 | 53.87 |
Incumbent Robert F. Orr, a Republican, defeated North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Robert C. Hunter, a Democrat.
Robert F. "Bob" Orr is an American lawyer, formerly an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Robert C. (Bob) Hunter is an American jurist, who served as a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1998 through 2014.
In the Democratic primary, Hunter had defeated attorney Bradley K. Greenway.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Robert C. Hunter | 987,447 | 45.35 | ||
Republican | Robert F. Orr | 1,189,751 | 54.65 |
Incumbent Loretta Copeland Biggs, a Democrat, was narrowly defeated by Sanford L. Steelman, Jr., a Republican. There were no primaries.
Loretta Copeland Biggs is a United States District Court Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Loretta Copeland Biggs | 1,046,689 | 49.14 | ||
Republican | Sanford L. Steelman, Jr. | 1,083,194 | 50.86 |
Incumbent Wanda G. Bryant, a Democrat, was defeated by District Court Judge Ann Marie Calabria, a Republican.
Wanda G. Bryant is an American judge, currently an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Ann Marie Calabria is an American jurist who served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals until her retirement on December 31, 2018.
In the Republican primary, Calabria had defeated Nathanael K. (Nate) Pendley.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Wanda G. Bryant | 1,020,286 | 47.93 | ||
Republican | Ann Marie Calabria | 1,108,615 | 52.07 |
Incumbent Hugh Brown Campbell, Jr., a Democrat, was defeated by District Court Judge Eric Levinson, a Republican.
In the Republican primary, Levinson had defeated Lorrie L. Dollar.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Hugh Brown Campbell, Jr. | 1,046,594 | 49.0 | ||
Republican | Eric Levinson | 1,089,728 | 51.0 |
In the open-seat contest, Martha Geer, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Bill Constangy, a Republican.
In the Democratic primary, Geer had defeated Marcus W. Williams.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Martha Geer | 1,073,423 | 50.35 | ||
Republican | Bill Constangy | 1,058,485 | 49.65 |
In the open-seat contest, Rick Elmore, a Republican, defeated George R. Barrett, a Democrat.
In the Democratic primary, Barrett had defeated Beecher Reynolds Gray. In the Republican primary, Elmore had defeated Fritz Mercer.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | George R. Barrett | 1,022,078 | 47.95 | ||
Republican | Rick Elmore | 1,109,317 | 52.05 |
C. Daniel "Dan" Barrett is an attorney, legal author, and North Carolina political figure.
Elections to choose members of the North Carolina Council of State were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004.
The 1986 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. The party not controlling the presidency gained seats, as usually occurs in mid-term elections.
The 1978 United States Senate elections in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. Thirteen seats changed hands between parties. The Democrats at first lost a net of two seats to the Republicans, and then one more in a special election. Democrats nevertheless retained a 58-41 majority.
Several judges of the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the state's two appellate courts, were elected on November 2, 2004. The U.S. Presidential election, 2004, U.S. House election, 2004, U.S. Senate election, 2004, North Carolina Council of State election, 2004 and North Carolina General Assembly election, 2004 were held on the same day.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained back two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber remained unchanged.
The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) is the North Carolina affiliate of the national Democratic Party in the United States. It is headquartered in the historic Goodwin house, which is located in the downtown area of Raleigh at 220 Hillsborough Street.
John S. Arrowood is an American attorney and judge. In April 2017, Arrowood was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Roy Cooper, to replace Judge Doug McCullough, a Republican who resigned one month before he would have reached the mandatory retirement age.
One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and six judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and Council of State elections.
The 1968 South Carolina United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 5, 1968, to select six Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. The primary elections were held on June 11 and the runoff elections were held two weeks later on June 25. All five incumbents who ran were re-elected and the open seat in the 5th district was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation remained five Democrats and one Republican.
One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and five judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 2, 2010, on the same day as the U.S. Senate election, U.S. House elections, and other state-level elections. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. All incumbent judges and justices who sought re-election won their respective races, except for Judge Cressie Thigpen of the Court of Appeals, who had been appointed shortly before the election and lost North Carolina's first statewide election to use Instant-runoff voting.
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One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the elections for Governor and other offices. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. In three of the four races, incumbents were re-elected to their seats, but incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Cressie Thigpen was defeated by Chris Dillon.
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Four justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2014, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years.
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