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, and they did not file for re-election by the time filing closed on Dec. 20, 2019.
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. The results of the Chief Justice race were only confirmed after a lengthy recount process, because of the narrow margin.
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.
Candidates
Declared
- Cheri Beasley (Democratic), incumbent Chief Justice
- Paul Martin Newby (Republican), incumbent Associate Justice
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
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
|
Results
| 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. 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. Beasley then conceded the election to Newby on Dec. 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.
Candidates
Declared
- Phil Berger Jr. (Republican), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
- Lucy Inman (Democratic), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
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
| 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.
Candidates
Declared
- Tamara P. Barringer (Republican), former state senator (2012–2019)
- Mark A. Davis (Democratic), incumbent Associate Justice
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
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
| 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
- April C. Wood (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge
Results
| 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
- Fred Gore (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge
Results
| 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
Results
| 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
- Reuben Young (Democrat), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge
Results
| 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.
- Jefferson G. Griffin (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge
Results
| 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
- ^ 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
- ^ News & Observer
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Newby to seek Chief Justice seat in 2020". North State Journal. January 25, 2019.
- Cardinal Point Analytics (R)
- ^ Meeting Street Insights (R) Archived 2020-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
- Harper Polling/Civitas (R)
- ^ Harper Polling/Civitas (R)
- Harper Polling/Civitas (R)
- Harper Polling/Civitas (R) Archived 2020-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Harper Polling/Civitas (R) Archived 2020-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "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.
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