2022 North Carolina judicial elections

Two justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the fifteen-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were conducted on a partisan basis.

Primary elections were originally set to be held on March 8, 2022, but were delayed by order of the state Supreme Court, and then rescheduled for May 17, 2022. ^[1] Candidate filing began on December 6, 2021, but was suspended by the court's order. ^[2] Filing later resumed, and ended on March 4, 2022.

Republicans won both seats on the Supreme Court flipping them from Democratic control and giving themselves a 5–2 majority. They also won all four races for the Court of Appeals flipping two from Democratic control and holding the two others. ^{[3] [4]}

Supreme Court seat 3

2022 North Carolina Supreme Court seat 3 election

←  2014 November 8, 2022 2030 →

Nominee Richard Dietz Lucy Inman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,950,323 1,758,273 Percentage 52.6% 47.4%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Dietz:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Inman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     50%

Associate Justice before election Robin Hudson Democratic Elected Associate Justice Richard Dietz Republican

This seat was held by Associate Justice Robin Hudson, a Democrat, who had held the seat since 2007. There was some speculation that Hudson would choose to not run for re-election, due to the fact that she was nearing the mandatory retirement age of 72. ^[5] Hudson's mandatory retirement would be February 29, 2024. If she were re-elected to another term, she would only be able to serve a little over 13 months of her eight-year term.

On December 1, 2021, Hudson announced that she would not be seeking re-election. ^[6] Court of Appeals Judge Lucy Inman ran for this seat. ^[7]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Lucy Inman, Court of Appeals Judge (2015–present) and candidate for Supreme Court in 2020 ^[7]

Declined

• Robin Hudson, Associate Justice (since 2007) ^{[6] [7]}

Republican primary

As only one Republican filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Richard Dietz, Court of Appeals Judge (2014–present) ^{[5] [8]}

General election

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Lucy Inman (D)	Richard Dietz (R)	Undecided
Cygnal (R) [9]	October 20–22, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	42%	49%	9%
SurveyUSA [10]	September 28 – October 2, 2022	677 (LV)	± 4.4%	32%	37%	31%
Cygnal (R) [11]	September 24–26, 2022	650 (LV)	± 3.75%	41%	45%	15%
Cygnal (R) [12]	August 13–15, 2022	615 (LV)	± 3.9%	39%	45%	15%
Cygnal (R) [13]	June 17–19, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	38%	49%	13%
Cygnal (R) [14]	May 21–22, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	40%	44%	16%
Meeting Street Insights (R) [15] [A]	May 12–16, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	39%	45%	15%

Results

North Carolina Supreme Court seat 3 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Richard Dietz	1,950,323	52.59%
	Democratic	Lucy Inman	1,758,273	47.41%
Total votes			3,708,596	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Supreme Court seat 5

2022 North Carolina Supreme Court seat 5 election

←  2014 November 8, 2022 2030 →

Nominee Trey Allen Sam Ervin IV Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,941,991 1,764,509 Percentage 52.4% 47.6%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Allen:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Ervin:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     50%

Associate Justice before election Sam Ervin IV Democratic Elected Associate Justice Trey Allen Republican

This seat was held by Associate Justice Sam Ervin IV, a Democrat, who had held the seat since 2015. Ervin ran for re-election to a second term. ^[5]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Sam Ervin IV, Associate Justice (2015–present) ^[5]

Republican primary

Nominee

• Trey Allen, professor at UNC-Chapel Hill ^{[5] [8]}

Eliminated in primary

• Victoria E. Prince ^[8]
• April C. Wood, Court of Appeals Judge (2021–present) ^{[5] [8]}

Endorsements

Trey Allen

State and local officials

• Phil Berger, state senator (since 2001) and president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate (since 2011) ^[17]
• Paul Newton, state senator (since 2017) ^[17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Trey Allen	Victoria Prince	April Wood	Undecided
Atlantic Polling Strategies (R) [18]	April 25–28, 2022	534 (LV)	± 4.9%	18%	4%	10%	68%
Cygnal (R) [19]	April 1–3, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	10%	2%	7%	82%
Vitale & Associates (R) [20]	March 22–23, 2022	504 (LV)	± 4.4%	6%	3%	8%	82%

Results

Results by county

  Allen

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Wood

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Republican primary results ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trey Allen	385,124	55.39%
	Republican	April C. Wood	252,504	36.32%
	Republican	Victoria E. Prince	57,672	8.29%
Total votes			695,300	100.00%

General election

Polling

Graphical summary

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Sam Ervin IV (D)	Trey Allen (R)	Undecided
Cygnal (R) [9]	October 20–22, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	42%	49%	9%
SurveyUSA [10]	September 28 – October 2, 2022	677 (LV)	± 4.4%	37%	39%	24%
Cygnal (R) [11]	September 24–26, 2022	650 (LV)	± 3.75%	39%	46%	15%
Cygnal (R) [12]	August 13–15, 2022	615 (LV)	± 3.9%	40%	45%	15%
Cygnal (R) [13]	June 17–19, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	39%	49%	12%
Cygnal (R) [14]	May 21–22, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.0%	40%	46%	14%
Meeting Street Insights (R) [15] [A]	May 12–16, 2022	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	42%	46%	12%

Results

North Carolina Supreme Court seat 5 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Trey Allen	1,941,991	52.39%
	Democratic	Sam Ervin IV (incumbent)	1,764,509	47.61%
Total votes			3,706,500	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals seat 8 (Inman seat)

2022 North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 8 election

←  2014 November 8, 2022 2030 →

Nominee Julee Tate Flood Carolyn Jennings Thompson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,941,252 1,747,634 Percentage 52.6% 47.4%

County results Precinct results Flood:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Thompson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     50%

Court of Appeals Judge before election Lucy Inman Democratic Elected Court of Appeals Judge Julee Tate Flood Republican

Lucy Inman, a Democrat, was elected to this seat in 2014. Inman ran for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2022 rather than seek reelection. ^[7]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Carolyn Jennings Thompson, former District Court and former Superior Court judge ^{[22] [8]}

Declined

• Lucy Inman, Court of Appeals Judge (2015–present) and candidate for Supreme Court in 2020 ^[7]

Republican primary

As only one Republican filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Julee Tate Flood ^[8]

General election

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 8 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Julee Tate Flood	1,941,252	52.62%
	Democratic	Carolyn Jennings Thompson	1,747,634	47.38%
Total votes			3,688,886	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals seat 9 (Stroud seat)

2022 North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 9 election

←  2014 November 8, 2022 2030 →

Nominee Donna Stroud Brad A. Salmon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,012,454 1,673,631 Percentage 54.6% 45.4%

County results Precinct results Stroud:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Salmon:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

Court of Appeals Judge before election Donna Stroud Republican Elected Court of Appeals Judge Donna Stroud Republican

Donna Stroud, a Republican, was first elected to the Court of Appeals in 2006 and subsequently re-elected. She was appointed to the position of Chief Judge by then-Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and assumed that role on January 1, 2021. ^[23] Stroud ran for re-election. ^[24]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Brad A. Salmon, District Court Judge and former state representative (2015–2016) ^{[25] [8]}

Republican primary

Nominee

• Donna Stroud, Court of Appeals Judge (2007–present) (Chief Judge 2021–present) ^[24]

Eliminated in primary

• Beth Freshwater Smith, District Court Judge ^[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Beth Freshwater-Smith	Donna Stroud	Undecided
Vitale & Associates (R) [20]	March 22–23, 2022	504 (LV)	± 4.4%	4%	8%	87%

Endorsements

Beth Freshwater Smith

State and local officials

• Phil Berger Jr., Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (since 2021) and former Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (2017–2021) ^[26]
• Jimmy Dixon, state representative (since 2011) ^[27]
• Keith Kidwell, state representative (since 2019) ^[27]
• Jim Perry, state senator (since 2019) ^[26]

Donna Stroud

State and local officials

• Bob Edmunds, former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2001–2016) ^[26]
• Bob Hunter, former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2014) and former Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (2008–2014) ^[26]

Results

Results by county

  Stroud

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Freshwater Smith

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Republican primary results ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Stroud (incumbent)	400,119	59.28%
	Republican	Beth Freshwater Smith	274,861	40.72%
Total votes			674,980	100.00%

General election

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 9 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Donna Stroud (incumbent)	2,012,454	54.60%
	Democratic	Brad A. Salmon	1,673,631	45.40%
Total votes			3,686,085	100.00%
	Republican hold

Court of Appeals seat 10 (Tyson seat)

2022 North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 10 election

←  2014 November 8, 2022 2030 →

Nominee John Tyson Gale Murray Adams Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,951,890 1,734,513 Percentage 52.9% 47.1%

County results Precinct results Tyson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Adams:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90%

Court of Appeals Judge before election John Tyson Republican Elected Court of Appeals Judge John Tyson Republican

John Tyson, a Republican, was elected to this seat in 2014 after previously serving on the court from 2001 to 2009. Tyson ran for re-election. ^[8]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Gale Murray Adams, Cumberland County Superior Court Judge ^{[8] [28]}

Republican primary

As only one Republican filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• John Tyson, Court of Appeals Judge (2001–2009; 2015–2021) ^[8]

General election

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 10 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Tyson (incumbent)	1,951,890	52.95%
	Democratic	Gale Murray Adams	1,734,513	47.05%
Total votes			3,686,403	100.00%
	Republican hold

Court of Appeals seat 11 (Jackson seat)

2022 North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 11 election

←  2016 November 8, 2022 2024 →

Nominee Michael J. Stading Darren Jackson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,953,052 1,727,967 Percentage 53.1% 46.9%

County results Precinct results Stading:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Jackson:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     50%

Court of Appeals Judge before election Darren Jackson Democratic Elected Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Stading Republican

Darren Jackson, a Democrat, was appointed to this seat by Governor Roy Cooper in 2020, to fill the vacancy created by Phil Berger Jr.'s election to the Supreme Court. ^[29] Jackson ran for election to a full term. ^[8]

Democratic primary

As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.

Nominee

• Darren Jackson, Court of Appeals Judge (2021–present), former state representative (2009–2020), former minority leader of the North Carolina House of Representatives (2017–2020) ^[8]

Republican primary

Nominee

• Michael J. Stading, Air Force JAG (judge advocate) and former prosecutor ^[8]

Eliminated in primary

• Charlton L. Allen, former member of the North Carolina Industrial Commission and former chair of Iredell County Republican Party ^{[8] [30]}

Results

Results by county

  Stading

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Republican primary results ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael J. Stading	469,419	70.76%
	Republican	Charlton L. Allen	194,022	29.24%
Total votes			663,441	100.00%

General election

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals seat 11 election, 2022 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael J. Stading	1,953,052	53.06%
	Democratic	Darren Jackson (incumbent)	1,727,967	46.94%
Total votes			3,681,019	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by the Carolina Partnership for Reform

References

1. "Upcoming Election". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
2. WRAL.com: NC Supreme Court order delays primaries until May
3. Bland, Davey; Anderson, Bryan (November 6, 2022). "NC voters could shift political balance of state's highest court". WRAL.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
4. Horton, Ethan; Benbow, Eliza. "Two Republicans win seats on the NC Supreme Court, flipping majority". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
5. Woodhouse, Dallas (July 8, 2021). "Democrats' N.C. Supreme Court majority on the line with two seats up in '22". Carolina Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
6. Hoyt, Conrad (December 1, 2021). "State Supreme Court justice says she won't run for re-election". WITN. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
7. Robertson, Gary (December 1, 2021). "NC Supreme Court's No. 2 justice won't seek reelection". Associated Press News. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
8. "2022 Primary Candidate List By Contest – Federal and State Only" (PDF). North Carolina State Board of Elections.
9. Cygnal (R)
10. SurveyUSA
11. Cygnal (R)
12. Cygnal (R)
13. Cygnal (R)
14. Cygnal (R)
15. Meeting Street Insights (R)
16. "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
17. Bass, David (May 16, 2022). "N.C. judicial primaries are crucial but fly under the radar". Carolina Journal –. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
18. Atlantic Polling Strategies (R)
19. Cygnal (R)
20. Vitale & Associates (R)
21. North Carolina State Board of Elections
22. About Carolyn
23. "Donna Stroud Takes Oath and Becomes Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals". North Carolina Judicial Branch. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
24. Dillon, A. P. (October 15, 2021). "Court of Appeals Chief Donna Stroud running for re-election in 2022". The North State Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
25. Governor Cooper Appoints Brad Salmon as District Court Judge
26. Brosseau, Carli; Doran, Will (May 15, 2022). "'The West is wilder than it was.' Contentious Court of Appeals primary draws concern". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
27. "Endorsements". votefreshwatersmith.com.
28. Fayetteville Observer
29. Doran, Will (December 30, 2020). "Top Democrat to leave NC legislature, as Gov. Cooper appoints him to Court of Appeals". The News & Observer. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
30. Gov. McCrory's appointment, Charlton Allen has a racially dubious past

External links

Official campaign websites for Supreme Court candidates
Seat 3

• Richard Dietz (R)
• Lucy Inman (D)

Seat 5

• Trey Allen (R)
• Sam Ervin IV (D)
• April C. Wood (R)

Official campaign websites for Court of Appeals candidates
Seat 8

• Julee Tate Flood (R)
• Carolyn Thompson (D)

Seat 9

• Beth Freshwater-Smith (R) Archived February 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
• Brad Salmon (D)
• Donna Stroud (R)

Seat 10

• Gale Adams (D)
• John Tyson (R)

Seat 11

• Charlton Allen (R)
• Darren Jackson (D)
• Michael Stading (R)