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

Cheri Beasley (Democratic), incumbent Chief Justice^[7]
Paul Martin Newby (Republican), incumbent Associate Justice^[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	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) Archived 2020-10-31 at the Wayback Machine	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^[a]	Margin of error	Generic Democrat	Generic Republican	Other/Undecided
Harper Polling/Civitas (R)	September 17–20, 2020	612 (LV)	± 3.96%	43%	43%	14%^[b]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R)	August 6–10, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4%	38%	40%	~22%-23%^[c]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) Archived 2020-04-23 at the Wayback Machine	April 5–7, 2020	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	39%	36%	25%^[d]
Harper Polling/Civitas (R) Archived 2020-04-23 at the Wayback Machine [1]	Released March 17, 2019	–^[e]	–	36%	34%	30%^[f]

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Chief Justice seat election, 2020^[9]
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%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Beasley requested a recount on Nov. 17, 2020.^[10] 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.^[11] Beasley then conceded the election to Newby on Dec. 12.^[12]

Seat 2 (Newby seat)

The seat then 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

Phil Berger Jr. (Republican), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals^[13]
Lucy Inman (Democratic), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals^[14]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Phil Berger Jr. (R)	Lucy Inman (D)	Undecided
Meeting Street Insights (R) Archived 2020-10-31 at the Wayback Machine	October 24–27, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4%	43%	47%	7%

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Seat 2 election, 2020^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Berger Jr.	2,723,704	50.67%
	Democratic	Lucy Inman	2,652,187	49.33%
Total votes			5,375,891	100.0%
	Republican hold

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.^[15]

Candidates

Declared

Tamara P. Barringer (Republican), former state senator (2012–2019)^[16]
Mark A. Davis (Democratic), incumbent Associate Justice^[17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Mark A. Davis (D)	Tamara P. Barringer (R)	Undecided
Meeting Street Insights (R) Archived 2020-10-31 at the Wayback Machine	October 24–27, 2020	600 (LV)	± 4%	50%	42%	6%

Results

North Carolina State Supreme Court Seat 4 election, 2020^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tamara P. Barringer	2,746,362	51.21%
	Democratic	Mark A. Davis (incumbent)	2,616,265	48.79%
Total votes			5,362,627	100.0%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals

Seat 4

Candidates

Declared

Tricia Shields (Democrat), attorney and Campbell University Law School instructor^[1]
April C. Wood (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge^[1]

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 4 election, 2020^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	April C. Wood	2,767,469	51.78%
	Democratic	Tricia Shields	2,577,013	48.22%
Total votes			5,344,482	100.00%

Seat 5

Candidates

Declared

Lora Christine Cubbage (Democrat), North Carolina Superior Court Judge^[1]
Fred Gore (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge^[1]

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 5 election, 2020^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Fred Gore	2,735,952	51.27%
	Democratic	Lora Christine Cubbage	2,600,632	48.73%
Total votes			5,336,584	100.00%

Seat 6

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^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Dillon (incumbent)	2,769,020	51.95%
	Democratic	Gray Styers	2,561,090	48.05%
Total votes			5,330,110	100.00%

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

Jeff Carpenter (Republican), North Carolina Superior Court Judge^[1]
Reuben Young (Democrat), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge^[2]

Results

North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 7 election, 2020^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Carpenter	2,747,109	51.59%
	Democratic	Reuben Young (incumbent)	2,578,035	48.41%
Total votes			5,325,144	100.00%

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^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jefferson G. Griffin	2,720,503	51.16%
	Democratic	Christopher Brook (incumbent)	2,597,573	48.84%
Total votes			5,318,076	100.00%

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ "Neither" with 1%; "Other" with 0%; Undecided with 13%
^ Undecided with 21%; "Neither" with 1%; "Other Party" with <1%
^ Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 5%
^ Not yet released
^ Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 10%

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g News & Observer
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d State Board of Elections: State candidate list by county
^ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^ "§ 163-182.7. Ordering recounts". www.ncleg.gov. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
^ 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.
^ "Cheri Beasley Announced as First Black Female Chief Justice in NC History". Spectrum News. February 12, 2019.
^ Bonner, Lynn; Thompson, Elizabeth (March 10, 2019). "Who's running in North Carolina's 2020 statewide races?". The News & Observer.
^ ^a ^b "Newby to seek Chief Justice seat in 2020". North State Journal. January 25, 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov.
^ ABC 11/WTVD
^ Cheri Beasley on Twitter
^ ABC11/WTVD: Paul Newby wins North Carolina Supreme Court race as incumbent Cheri Beasley concedes
^ 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.
^ Doran, Will (January 30, 2019). "Democratic judge Lucy Inman announces 2020 campaign for NC Supreme Court seat". The News & Observer. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
^ "Gov. Cooper Names Supreme Court Associate Justice". North Carolina Governor. March 11, 2019.
^ 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.
^ "Cooper elevates Court of Appeals judge to Supreme Court". WCTI 12. Associated Press. March 11, 2019.

[Key-9] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[10] "Neither" with 1%; "Other" with 0%; Undecided with 13%

[11] Undecided with 21%; "Neither" with 1%; "Other Party" with <1%

[12] Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 5%

[13] Not yet released

[14] Undecided with 20%; "Neither/other/independent" with 10%

[nando-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g News & Observer

[ncsbe-list-2] State Board of Elections: State candidate list by county

[3] "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

[4] "§ 163-182.7. Ordering recounts". www.ncleg.gov. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

[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.

[NCcan-7] Bonner, Lynn; Thompson, Elizabeth (March 10, 2019). "Who's running in North Carolina's 2020 statewide races?". The News & Observer.

[Newby-8] "Newby to seek Chief Justice seat in 2020". North State Journal. January 25, 2019.

[JudicialResults-15] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov.

[16] ABC 11/WTVD

[17] Cheri Beasley on Twitter

[18] ABC11/WTVD: Paul Newby wins North Carolina Supreme Court race as incumbent Cheri Beasley concedes

[19] 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.

[20] Doran, Will (January 30, 2019). "Democratic judge Lucy Inman announces 2020 campaign for NC Supreme Court seat". The News & Observer. Retrieved September 16, 2019.

[21] "Gov. Cooper Names Supreme Court Associate Justice". North Carolina Governor. March 11, 2019.

[22] 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.

[23] "Cooper elevates Court of Appeals judge to Supreme Court". WCTI 12. Associated Press. March 11, 2019.

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