Two justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the fifteen-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 8, 2022, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were conducted on a partisan basis.
Primary elections were originally set to be held on March 8, 2022, but were delayed by order of the state Supreme Court, and then rescheduled for May 17, 2022.[1] Candidate filing began on December 6, 2021, but was suspended by the court's order.[2] Filing later resumed, and ended on March 4, 2022.
Republicans won both seats on the Supreme Court and all four races for the Court of Appeals. As a result of these elections, Republicans would hold a 5–2 majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court.[3][4]
This seat was held by Associate Justice Robin E. Hudson, a Democrat, who had held the seat since 2007. There was some speculation that Hudson would choose to not run for re-election, due to the fact that she was nearing the mandatory retirement age of 72.[5] Hudson's mandatory retirement would be February 29, 2024. If she were re-elected to another term, she would only be able to serve a little over 13 months of her eight-year term.
On December 1, 2021, Hudson announced that she would not be seeking re-election.[6] Court of Appeals Judge Lucy Inman ran for this seat.[7]
Democratic primary
As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.
Nominee
Lucy Inman, Court of Appeals Judge (2015–present) and candidate for Supreme Court in 2020[7]
Donna Stroud, a Republican, was first elected to the Court of Appeals in 2006 and subsequently re-elected. She was appointed to the position of Chief Judge by then-Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and assumed that role on January 1, 2021.[14] Stroud ran for re-election.[15]
Democratic primary
As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.
Phil Berger Jr., Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (since 2021) and former Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (2017–2021)[17]
Bob Edmunds, former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2001–2016)[17]
Bob Hunter, former Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2014) and former Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (2008–2014)[17]
Darren Jackson, a Democrat, was appointed to this seat by Governor Roy Cooper in 2020, to fill the vacancy created by Phil Berger Jr.'s election to the Supreme Court.[20] Jackson ran for election to a full term.[8]
Democratic primary
As only one Democrat filed to run for this seat, a primary was not held.