2020 North Carolina judicial elections

Three justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and five judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 3, 2020, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were conducted on a partisan basis.

Incumbent Court of Appeals Judges Linda McGee and Wanda Bryant (both Democrats) did not reopen their campaign accounts with the State Board of Elections, indicating they would not run for re-election,[1] and they did not file for re-election by the time filing closed on Dec. 20, 2019.[2]

Only one candidate from each party filed for each seat, meaning that no party primary elections would be necessary.

In the general election, Republican candidates won all of the races.[3] The results of the Chief Justice race were only confirmed after a lengthy recount process, because of the narrow margin.[4][5]

Supreme Court


Chief Justice (Beasley seat)

Chief Justice Mark Martin, a Republican, announced his resignation in 2019, triggering an election for his seat in 2020. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Associate Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, to become Chief Justice through 2020.[6]

Candidates

Declared

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[lower-alpha 1]
Margin
of error
Cheri
Beasley (D)
Paul
Newby (R)
Undecided
Cardinal Point Analytics (R) October 27–28, 2020 750 (LV) ± 3.6% 45% 44% 11%
Meeting Street Insights (R) October 24–27, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 49% 44% 4%
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) October 22–25, 2020 504 (LV) ± 4.4% 49% 40% 11%
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) September 17–20, 2020 612 (LV) ± 3.96% 44% 38% 18%
Hypothetical polling
with Generic Democrat and Generic Republican
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[lower-alpha 1]
Margin
of error
Generic
Democrat
Generic
Republican
Other/Undecided
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) September 17–20, 2020 612 (LV) ± 3.96% 43% 43% 14%[lower-alpha 2]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) August 6-10, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 38% 40% ~22%-23%[lower-alpha 3]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) April 5–7, 2020 500 (LV) ± 4.4% 39% 36% 25%[lower-alpha 4]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) Released March 17, 2019 [lower-alpha 5] 36% 34% 30%[lower-alpha 6]

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Chief Justice seat election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Paul Martin Newby 2,695,951 50.004
Democratic Cheri Beasley (incumbent) 2,695,550 49.996
Total votes 5,391,501 100.0

Beasley requested a recount on Nov. 17, 2020.[9] After the recount found the margin between the candidates to be 401 votes, Beasley called for a second recount in a sampling of precincts statewide, as allowed by law.[10] Beasley then conceded the election to Newby on Dec. 12.[11]

Seat 2 (Newby seat)

The seat currently held by Associate Justice Paul Martin Newby was up for election in 2020. Newby announced that he would run for Chief Justice instead, leaving his Associate Justice seat open.[8]

Candidates

Declared

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[lower-alpha 1]
Margin
of error
Phil
Berger Jr. (R)
Lucy
Inman (D)
Undecided
Meeting Street Insights (R) October 24–27, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 43% 47% 7%

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Seat 2 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Phil Berger Jr. 2,723,707 50.67
Democratic Lucy Inman 2,652,196 49.33
Total votes 5,375,903 100.0

Seat 4 (Davis seat)

Beasley's elevation to the position of Chief Justice made her Associate Justice seat vacant, which also triggered a 2020 election. Governor Cooper appointed Court of Appeals Judge Mark A. Davis to fill the vacancy as an Associate Justice.[14]

Candidates

Declared

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[lower-alpha 1]
Margin
of error
Mark A.
Davis (D)
Tamara P.
Barringer (R)
Undecided
Meeting Street Insights (R) October 24–27, 2020 600 (LV) ± 4% 50% 42% 6%

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Seat 4 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tamara P. Barringer 2,746,365 51.21
Democratic Mark A. Davis (incumbent) 2,616,274 48.79
Total votes 5,362,639 100.0

Court of Appeals

Candidates

Declared

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 4 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tricia Shields 2,573,482 48.22
Republican April C. Wood 2,763,408 51.78
Total votes 5,336,890 100.0

Candidates

Declared

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 5 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lora Christine Cubbage 2,597,057 48.73
Republican Fred Gore 2,731,942 51.27
Total votes 5,328,999 100.0

Candidates

Declared
  • Chris Dillon (Republican), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge
  • Gray Styers (Democrat), attorney[1]

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 6 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Dillon (incumbent) 2,764,967 51.95
Democratic Gray Styers 2,557,612 48.05
Total votes 5,322,579 100.0

Seat 7

Judge Reuben Young, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill a vacancy, through the end of 2020, and was eligible to run for a full term.

Candidates

Declared

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 7 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Reuben Young (incumbent) 2,574,533 48.42
Republican Jeff Carpenter 2,743,085 51.58
Total votes 5,317,618 100.0

Seat 13

Judge Christopher Brook, a Democrat, was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to fill a vacancy, through the end of 2020, and was eligible to run for a full term.

Candidates

Declared
  • Christopher Brook (Democrat), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge.[2]
  • Jefferson G. Griffin (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge[2]

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 13 election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christopher Brook (incumbent) 2,593,980 48.85
Republican Jefferson C. Griffin 2,716,597 51.15
Total votes 5,310,577 100.0

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. "Neither" with 1%; "Other" with 0%; Undecided with 13%
  3. Undecided with 21%; "Neither" with 1%; "Other Party" with <1%
  4. Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 5%
  5. Not yet released
  6. Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 10%

References

  1. News & Observer
  2. State Board of Elections: State candidate list by county
  3. "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  4. www.ncleg.gov https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-182.7.html. Retrieved 2020-11-13. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. Battaglia, Danielle (November 13, 2020). "NC chief justice candidates swap leads back and forth as vote counting continues". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  6. "Cheri Beasley Announced as First Black Female Chief Justice in NC History". Spectrum News. February 12, 2019.
  7. Bonner, Lynn; Thompson, Elizabeth (March 10, 2019). "Who's running in North Carolina's 2020 statewide races?". The News & Observer.
  8. "Newby to seek Chief Justice seat in 2020". North State Journal. January 25, 2019.
  9. ABC 11/WTVD
  10. Cheri Beasley on Twitter
  11. ABC11/WTVD: Paul Newby wins North Carolina Supreme Court race as incumbent Cheri Beasley concedes
  12. Doran, Will (January 28, 2019). "Phil Berger Jr., son of powerful Republican lawmaker, wants seat on NC Supreme Court". The News & Observer. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  13. Doran, Will (January 30, 2019). "Democratic judge Lucy Inman announces 2020 campaign for NC Supreme Court seat". The News & Observer. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  14. "Gov. Cooper Names Supreme Court Associate Justice". North Carolina Governor. March 11, 2019.
  15. Doran, Will (February 5, 2019). "Former state senator Tamara Barringer of Cary to seek NC Supreme Court seat". The News & Observer. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  16. "Cooper elevates Court of Appeals judge to Supreme Court". WCTI 12. Associated Press. March 11, 2019.
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