2026 North Carolina judicial elections

At least one justice of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the fifteen-member North Carolina Court of Appeals are scheduled to be elected by North Carolina voters on November 3, 2026, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections are conducted on a partisan basis.

Primary elections (for seats with more than one candidate from a political party) are scheduled to be held on March 3, 2026. ^[1]

Supreme Court Seat 1

2026 North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice seat 1 election

←  2018 November 3, 2026 (2026-11-03) 2034 →

Associate Justice before election Anita Earls Democratic Elected Associate Justice TBD

Justice Anita Earls is the incumbent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Anita Earls, incumbent justice ^[2]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Sarah Stevens, attorney and state representative (2009–present) ^[3]

Court of Appeals Seat 1

Judge John S. Arrowood is the incumbent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• John S. Arrowood, incumbent judge ^[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Michael Byrne, administrative law judge ^[5]
• Matt Smith, Union County Superior Court judge (Judicial District 20B) ^[5]

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Byrne
	Republican	Matt Smith
Total votes				100.0%

Court of Appeals Seat 2

Judge Toby Hampson is the incumbent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Toby Hampson, incumbent judge ^[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

• George Bell, Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge (Judicial District 26C) ^[5]

Court of Appeals Seat 3

Judge Allegra Collins is the incumbent.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Christine Walczyk, Wake County District Court judge (Judicial District 10C) ^[6]
• James Whalen, attorney at Brooks Pierce LLP ^[7]

Declined

• Allegra Collins, incumbent judge ^{[8] [9]}

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Walczyk
	Democratic	James Whalen
Total votes				100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

• Craig Collins, Gaston County Superior Court judge (Judicial District 27A) ^[5]

See also

• 2026 North Carolina elections

References

1. NC State Board of Elections
2. Ingram, Kyle (May 31, 2025). "With Riggs in place, NC Democrats launch Anita Earls' 2026 Supreme Court campaign". The News & Observer .
3. "Longtime North Carolina House Member Sarah Stevens Plans to Run for State Supreme Court". U.S. News & World Report. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
4. "Mecklenburg County Unite For Justice with the Honorable John Arrowood".
5. Anderson, Bryan (December 19, 2025). "Who's Running: State Courts". Indy Week . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
6. Anderson, Bryan (May 23, 2025). "Wake County District Court Judge Christine Walczyk announces she's running to replace Allegra Collins on the NC Court of Appeals. Walczyk, a Democrat, is also a former law partner of state Sen. Lisa Grafstein. #ncpol". X (Twitter) .
7. Ingram, Kyle (July 11, 2025). "Democratic candidates vie for state Court of Appeals in 2026 midterms". News & Observer.
8. LinkedIn
9. Facebook

External links

Official campaign websites for North Carolina Supreme Court

• Anita Earls (D) for Supreme Court
• Sarah Stevens (R) for Supreme Court

Official campaign websites for North Carolina Court of Appeals

Seat 1

• John Arrowood (D) for Court of Appeals
• Michael Byrne (R) for Court of Appeals
• Matt Smith (R) for Court of Appeals

Seat 2

• Toby Hampson (D) for Court of Appeals

Seat 3

• Craig Collins (R) for Court of Appeals
• Christine Walczyk (D) for Court of Appeals
• James Whalen (D) for Court of Appeals