Jump to content

2024 North Carolina judicial elections

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elections in North Carolina
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State executive
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Governor elections
Attorney General elections
Council of State elections
Secretary of State elections
State legislature
State Senate elections
State House elections
State judiciary
Judicial elections
Ballot measures
2012
Amendment 1
Mayoral elections
Charlotte mayoral elections
Cary mayoral elections
Durham mayoral elections
Fayetteville mayoral elections
Greensboro mayoral elections
Raleigh mayoral elections
Winston-Salem mayoral elections

One justice of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the fifteen-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 5, 2024, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were conducted on a partisan basis.

Primary elections (for seats with more than one candidate from a political party) were held on March 5, 2024.

Supreme Court Seat 6

[edit]
2024 North Carolina Supreme Court seat 3 election
← 2016 November 5, 2024 2032 →
 
Nominee Allison Riggs Jefferson Griffin
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,770,412 2,769,678
Percentage 50.01% 49.99%
Riggs:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Griffin:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Associate Justice before election

Allison Riggs
Democratic

Elected Associate Justice

TBD

This seat was held by Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to the seat following the early retirement of Michael R. Morgan, also a Democrat. Morgan had announced in 2023 that he would not run for reelection in 2024.[1] Riggs ran for a full term, as did Judge Lora Cubbage, a fellow Democrat.[2]

On January 5, 2023, NC Court of Appeals judge Jefferson Griffin announced that he would run for the seat as a Republican.[3]

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Lora
Cubbage 		Allison
Riggs 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[6] December 15–16, 2023 556 (LV) ± 4.2% 9% 12% 79%

Results

[edit]
Democratic primary
  Riggs
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Cubbage
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Democratic primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Allison Riggs (incumbent) 450,268 69.10
Democratic Lora Christine Cubbage 201,336 30.90
Total votes 651,604 100.00

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

General election

[edit]

Debate

[edit]
2024 North Carolina Supreme Court Seat 6 debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Republican
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Riggs Griffin
1 June 28, 2024 North Carolina Bar Association Tim Boyum YouTube P P

Endorsements

[edit]
Jefferson Griffin

Organizations

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Allison
Riggs 		Jefferson
Griffin 		Undecided
ActiVote[9] October 8–26, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 48% 52% –
Cygnal (R)[10][A] October 12–14, 2024 600 (LV) ± 3.99% 43% 45% 12%
ActiVote[11] August 20 – September 22, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 52% 48% –
Cygnal (R)[12][A] September 15–16, 2024 600 (LV) ± 3.99% 44% 41% 15%
YouGov (D)[13][B] August 5–9, 2024 802 (RV) ± 3.9% 42% 41% 17%
Cygnal (R)[14][A] August 4–5, 2024 600 (LV) ± 3.99% 37% 40% 22%
Spry Strategies[15] June 7–11, 2024 600 (LV) ± 4.0% 39% 37% 24%
Change Research (D)[16][B] May 13–18, 2024 835 (LV) ± 3.8% 41% 40% 19%
Cygnal (R)[17][A] May 4–5, 2024 600 (LV) ± 3.99% 39% 40% 21%
Meeting Street Insights (R)[18][C] April 25–28, 2024 500 (RV) ± 4.4% 42% 40% 18%

Results

[edit]
North Carolina Supreme Court election, 2024
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Allison Riggs (incumbent) 2,770,412 50.01
Republican Jefferson Griffin 2,769,678 49.99
Total votes 5,540,090 100.00

[19]

Aftermath

[edit]

Following the initial election recount, Jefferson Griffin challenged the eligibility of over 60,000 ballots. In December 2024, the North Carolina State Board of Elections dismissed the challenge.[20] Following a lawsuit, in January 2025, the North Carolina Supreme Court dismissed the challenge, requiring the petition to go through lower courts first.[21] In February, justice William Pittman of Wake County dismissed the challenge.[22]

On April 4, 2025, the North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned the ruling in a 2 to 1 vote, where they ruled that the ballots were wrongly included in the final result tally.[23] The decision would require all voters included on the list of challenged ballots to cure their ballots by the set deadline of fifteen days.[24] The NC Supreme Court temporarily blocked the order to either reverify or throw out the ballots on April 6, 2025.[25]

Court of Appeals Seat 12 (Thompson seat)

[edit]

The incumbent was Carolyn Thompson, a Democrat. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to fill the vacancy caused when he elevated Judge Allison Riggs (also a Democrat) to the Supreme Court.[26][27] Thompson ran for a full term,[28] but was defeated by former state representative Tom Murry.[29]

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

General election

[edit]

Debates

[edit]
2024 North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12 debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Republican
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Thompson Murry
1 June 28, 2024 North Carolina Bar Association Tim Boyum YouTube P P

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Carolyn
Thompson 		Tom
Murry
ActiVote[9] October 8–26, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 48% 52%
ActiVote[11] August 20 – September 22, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 49% 51%

Endorsements

[edit]
Tom Murry

Organizations

Results

[edit]
Results by county
  Murry
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Thompson
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 12 election, 2024
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Murry 2,809,458 50.89
Democratic Carolyn Thompson (incumbent) 2,710,863 49.11
Total votes 5,520,321 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals Seat 14 (Zachary seat)

[edit]

The incumbent was Judge Valerie Zachary, a Republican.

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

General election

[edit]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Valerie
Zachary 		Ed
Eldred 		Undecided
ActiVote[9] October 8–26, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 52% 48% –
ActiVote[11] August 20 – September 22, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 53% 47% –

Endorsements

[edit]
Valerie Zachary

Organizations

Results

[edit]
Results by county
  Zachary
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Eldred
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 14 election, 2024
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Valerie Zachary (incumbent) 2,879,049 52.28
Democratic Ed Eldred 2,628,453 47.72
Total votes 5,507,502 100.00

Court of Appeals Seat 15 (Murphy seat)

[edit]

The incumbent was Republican Hunter Murphy, who lost to Chris Freeman in the primary. Freeman then went on to win the general election, defeating Democrat Martin Moore.

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Republican primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Results by county
  Freeman
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Murphy
  •   50–60%
Republican primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Freeman 532,794 62.64
Republican Hunter Murphy (incumbent) 317,807 37.36
Total votes 850,601 100.00

General election

[edit]

Polling

[edit]
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Chris
Freeman 		Martin
Moore 		Undecided
ActiVote[9] October 8–26, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 53% 47% –
ActiVote[11] August 20 – September 22, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 52% 48% –

Endorsements

[edit]
Chris Freeman

Organizations

Results

[edit]
Results by county
  Freeman
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Moore
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 15 election, 2024
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Freeman 2,844,286 51.72
Democratic Martin E. Moore 2,654,765 48.28
Total votes 5,499,051 100.00
Republican hold

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  1. ^ a b c d Poll sponsored by the Carolina Journal
  2. ^ a b Poll sponsored by Carolina Forward
  3. ^ Poll sponsored by Carolina Partnership for Reform & Carolina Leadership Coalition

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Doran, Will (May 18, 2023). "Democratic NC Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan won't run for reelection in 2024". WRAL-TV. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  2. ^ Cubbage campaign
  3. ^ Griffin, Jefferson (January 5, 2023). "After much consideration, prayer, and many lengthy discussions with Katye, I have decided to challenge Democrat Justice Michael Morgan for the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2024. Thank you for your support! Join our campaign:". Twitter. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g NC State Board of Elections: 2024 Primary Election Candidate filings list
  5. ^ "Gov. Cooper Appoints Three New Judges". Governor of North Carolina. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Public Policy Polling (D)
  7. ^ a b "03/05/2024 UNOFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "NFIB North Carolina PAC Endorses Candidates in Four Judicial Races". National Federation of Independent Business. October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d ActiVote
  10. ^ Cygnal (R)
  11. ^ a b c d ActiVote
  12. ^ Cygnal (R)
  13. ^ YouGov (D)
  14. ^ Cygnal (R)
  15. ^ Spry Strategies
  16. ^ Change Research (D)
  17. ^ Cygnal (R)
  18. ^ Meeting Street Insights (R)
  19. ^ "2024 November General Election Recount" (PDF). Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  20. ^ "North Carolina Supreme Court 2024 Election Protests Rejection Challenges (II)". Democracy Docket. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  21. ^ "North Carolina Supreme Court Dismisses GOP Candidate's Election Challenge, Lower Courts Must Review First". Democracy Docket. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  22. ^ Billman, Jeffrey. "Wake Judge Dismisses Jefferson Griffin's Election Challenge". The Assembly. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  23. ^ "North Carolina judges side with Republican colleague in close Supreme Court election". AP News. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  24. ^ "Appeals court judges rule in favor of tossing thousands of ballots in close NC supreme court race". ABC 7 Chicago. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  25. ^ "NC Supreme Court temporarily blocks order to throw out 60,000 votes in justice race". WCNC Charlotte. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  26. ^ Anderson, Bryan (December 15, 2022). "Cooper selects voting access advocate Allison Riggs to fill appeals court seat". WRAL-TV. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  27. ^ "Governor Cooper Announces Two Judicial Appointments". Governor of North Carolina. September 11, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  28. ^ Duneja, Annika (September 19, 2023). "Judge Carolyn Thompson appointed to N.C. Court of Appeals". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  29. ^ Ingram, Kyle (November 6, 2024). "NC Supreme Court race could head to recount; GOP sweeps Court of Appeals races". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  30. ^ Law Offices of Amos Tyndall
  31. ^ Doty, Kelly (December 5, 2023). "Commissioner Martin Moore runs for North Carolina Court of Appeals". WLOS. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  32. ^ Greensboro News & Record
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2024_North_Carolina_judicial_elections&oldid=1284898545"