Three justices of the seven-member

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

and five judges of the 15-member

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

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 Linda M. McGee (born September 20, 1949) is an American judge, who retired as the Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals at the end of 2020. McGee retired as the "longest serving Court of Appeals judge in state history." Born in Mari ...

and

Wanda Bryant Wanda G. Bryant (born June 26, 1956) is an American judge, who retired as an associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals at the end of 2020. Born in Southport, North Carolina, Bryant earned an undergraduate degree in history and co ...

(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 Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

, a Republican, announced his resignation in 2019, triggering an election for his seat in 2020. Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

appointed Associate Justice

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 ...

, a Democrat, to become Chief Justice through 2020.

Candidates

=Declared

= *

(Democratic), incumbent Chief Justice *

Paul Martin Newby Paul Martin Newby (born May 5, 1955) is an American judge, who was first elected to a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2004. He was elected Chief Justice in 2020. Early life and education Newby was born in Asheboro, North Carolina. H ...

(Republican), incumbent Associate Justice

Polling

;with Generic Democrat and Generic Republican

Results

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

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. Philip Berger Jr. (born March 26, 1972) is an American lawyer who has served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court since 2021. Berger was elected to a seat on the North Carolina Court of Appeals in 2016, defeating incumbent ...

(Republican), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals *

Lucy Inman Lucy Noble Inman is a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and formerly served as a special North Carolina Superior Court judge. She won election to the appellate court in a North Carolina judicial elections, 2014, statewide race on Novem ...

(Democratic), incumbent judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals

Polling

Results

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 A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

Judge

Mark A. Davis Mark Allen Davis (born October 25, 1966) is an American attorney and jurist. He has served as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2019-2020) and previously as a Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Davis currently s ...

to fill the vacancy as an associate justice.

Candidates

=Declared

= * Tamara P. Barringer (Republican), former

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

(2012–2019) *

(Democratic), incumbent Associate Justice

Polling

Results

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

Seat 5

Candidates

;Declared *Lora Christine Cubbage (Democrat),

North Carolina Superior Court The Superior Court is North Carolina's general jurisdiction trial court. It was established in 1777 and is North Carolina's oldest court. Jurisdiction and administration The Superior Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction in North Caroli ...

Judge *

Fred Gore Fred Gore is a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Judge Gore attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he majored in Business with a concentration in Marketing and obtained his bachelor's degree in 1998. He later at ...

(Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge

Results

Seat 6

Candidates

;Declared *

Chris Dillon Robert Christopher "Chris" Dillon (born 1965) is a North Carolina attorney and judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Dillon won election to the appellate court in a North Carolina judicial elections, 2012, statewide race on Nov. 6, 2012, ...

(Republican), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge *Gray Styers (Democrat), attorneyNews & Observer
/ref>

Results

Seat 7

Judge

Reuben Young Reuben F. Young is an American lawyer and jurist. He was appointed to serve on the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Roy Cooper in 2019 but lost reelection and left on December 31, 2020. At the time of his appointment to the court, Youn ...

, 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),

Judge *

(Democrat), incumbent Court of Appeals JudgeState Board of Elections: State candidate list by county
/ref>

Results

Seat 13

Judge

Christopher Brook The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

, 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 *

(Democrat), incumbent Court of Appeals Judge. * Jefferson G. Griffin (Republican), North Carolina District Court Judge

Results

Notes

References

{{North Carolina judicial elections

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...