2012 North Carolina judicial election

One justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the elections for Governor and other offices. North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. In three of the four races, incumbents were re-elected to their seats, but incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Cressie Thigpen (who had never been elected but rather was appointed to fill a vacancy on the court) was defeated by Chris Dillon.[1]

Supreme Court

Associate Justice Paul Martin Newby ran for re-election. N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Sam J. Ervin IV challenged Newby in the general election.[2]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sam Ervin IV	Paul Newby	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 29–31, 2012	730	± 3.6%	39%	35%	26%
Public Policy Polling	October 12–14, 2012	1,084	± 3.0%	32%	24%	44%
Public Policy Polling	September 27–30, 2012	1,084	± 3.0%	31%	23%	46%

Results

Newby won his second eight-year term on the North Carolina Supreme Court by taking 51.9 percent of the vote and defeating Ervin. [3]

Justice at Stake estimated that total spending by Newby, Ervin, and outside groups in this contest surpassed $4.4 million, breaking North Carolina records for spending in judicial elections. One group, Americans for Prosperity, spent $250,000 in support of Newby, more than the group had ever spent on any judicial election.[4]

Court of Appeals (Bryant seat)

Judge Wanda G. Bryant was the incumbent and ran for re-election. She was challenged by District Court Judge Marty McGee.[5] Bryant won re-election with 56.5 percent of the vote.[6]

Court of Appeals (McGee seat)

Judge Linda McGee ran for re-election to a third full term.[7] She was challenged by attorney David S. Robinson.[8] McGee won re-election with 61.2 percent of the vote.[9]

Court of Appeals (Thigpen seat)

Judge Cressie Thigpen, who was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by former Judge Barbara Jackson's election to the Supreme Court, ran for a full term. He was challenged by attorney/bank executive Chris Dillon, who ran for a seat on the Court of Appeals in 2010.[10] Dillon defeated Thigpen and won the seat with 52.8 percent of the vote.[11]

References

• State Board of Elections: Lists of Judges and Term Expiration Dates
• WRAL/Associated Press: A quick glance at NC appeals courts candidates

1. Charlotte Observer Archived 2013-01-02 at Archive.today
2. "Morganton News Herald: Ervin announces N.C. Supreme Court candidacy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
3. State of North Carolina Nov. 6, 2012 General Election
4. ""The New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2011-12" (Justice at Stake Campaign), chapter 1". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
5. Concord judge seeks Court of Appeals seat
6. State of North Carolina Nov. 6, 2012 General Election
7. News & Observer: Veteran appeals court judge running again
8. NC State Board of Elections: Candidate filing list Archived 2013-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
9. State of North Carolina Nov. 6, 2012 General Election
10. WRAL/Associated Press: NC voters choosing four appeals court judges
11. State of North Carolina Nov. 6, 2012 General Election

External links

• Judge Wanda Bryant campaign site
• Judge Marty McGee campaign site
• Judge Linda McGee campaign site
• Judge Cressie Thigpen campaign site
• Judge Sam Ervin campaign site
• Justice Paul Newby campaign site