One justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court and six judges of the
North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by
North Carolina voters on November 4, 2008. This coincided with the
presidential
President most commonly refers to:
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*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
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,
U.S. Senate,
U.S. House,
gubernatorial, and
Council of State elections.
North Carolina judicial elections are non-partisan.
Primary elections were held on May 6, 2008 for seats with more than two candidates running. The top two vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, advanced to the general election.
Despite the non-partisan nature of the elections, candidates' party affiliations were well-known. As a result of the elections, the Republicans maintained their 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court. Democrats maintained their majority on the Court of Appeals. Only one Republican (Robert N. Hunter, Jr.) defeated a Democrat in a Court of Appeals race.
Supreme Court (Edmunds seat)
Incumbent
Robert H. Edmunds, Jr.
Robert Holt Edmunds Jr. (born April 17, 1949) is an American lawyer, formerly an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Early life and education
Born in Danville, Virginia, Edmunds moved to Greensboro, North Carolina at the age ...
ran for re-election and was opposed by Professor
Suzanne Reynolds
Suzanne Reynolds (born 1949, in Lexington, North Carolina) is a law professor and dean emerita at Wake Forest University School of Law. She is the first woman to head the school, and was named dean after serving four years as executive associate ...
of
Wake Forest University Law School. Edmunds defeated Reynolds in the closest statewide judicial race of 2008.
Court of Appeals (Arrowood seat)
Incumbent
John S. Arrowood
John S. Arrowood (born November 4, 1956) is an American attorney and judge. In April 2017, Arrowood was appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Roy Cooper, to replace Judge Doug McCullough, a Republican who resigned one mon ...
, appointed in 2007, was opposed by former state Board of Elections chairman
Robert N. Hunter, Jr.
Robert Neal "Bob" Hunter, Jr. (born March 30, 1947) is a North Carolina lawyer and retired jurist formerly serving on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and on the North Carolina Supreme Court.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina at ...
Court of Appeals (Stephens seat)
Incumbent
Linda Stephens ran for election, having been appointed in 2007. She was opposed by attorney
Dan Barrett.
Court of Appeals (Tyson seat)
Incumbent
John M. Tyson
John Marsh Tyson (born July 14, 1953) is an American jurist and government official who currently serves as a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He also previously served on the court from 2001 to 2009.
Personal background
Judge ...
was opposed by state District Court Judge
Kristin Ruth, former Wake County Clerk of Court
Janet Pueschel, and state Utilities Commissioner
Sam J. Ervin, IV.
In the May 6 primary, Ervin led the field with 37 percent of the vote, followed by Ruth (26 percent), Tyson (22 percent), and Pueschel (16 percent). Ervin and Ruth advanced to the November general election.
Court of Appeals (McCullough seat)
Incumbent
Douglas McCullough was opposed by state District Court Judge
Cheri Beasley
Cheri Lynn Beasley (born February 14, 1966) is an American attorney and jurist who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2019 to 2020; she was appointed an associate justice in 2012. Beasley had previously served o ...
.
Court of Appeals (Martin seat)
Incumbent
John C. Martin, the court's Chief Judge, ran for re-election unopposed.
Court of Appeals (Wynn seat)
Incumbent
James A. Wynn was opposed by attorneys
Dean R. Poirier and
Jewel Ann Farlow in the May 6 primary.
Wynn and Farlow advanced to the November general election. Wynn won approximately 48 percent of the vote in the primary, followed by Farlow (37 percent) and Poirier (15 percent).
News & Observer: Wynn leads, but Tyson trails
/ref>
References
{{North Carolina judicial elections
Judicial
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...