One justice of the seven-memberNorth Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the fifteen-memberNorth Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 5, 2024, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were conducted on a partisan basis.
The ultimate result was that Republicans won three of the four elections (all for the Court of Appeals), while a Democrat won the Supreme Court race.
Primary elections (for seats with more than one candidate from a political party) were held on March 5, 2024.
This seat was held by Associate JusticeAllison Riggs, a Democrat. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to the seat following the early retirement ofMichael R. Morgan, also a Democrat. The final results of the election showed Riggs ahead of Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin by fewer than 800 votes, but legal challenges prevented their certification for months after. State courts, under a legal challenge by Griffin, had ordered the reexamination of thousands of voters' eligibilities, but a federal court later ordered the certification of the results as they stood. Griffin finally conceded the race on May 7, 2025.[1]
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1 of 7 seat of theSupreme Court of North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Allison Riggs (incumbent) | 2,770,412 | 50.01% | |
| Republican | Jefferson Griffin | 2,769,678 | 49.99% | |
| Total votes | 5,540,090 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
The incumbent wasCarolyn Thompson, a Democrat. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to fill the vacancy caused when he elevated JudgeAllison Riggs (also a Democrat) to the Supreme Court.[3][4] Thompson ran for a full term,[5] but was defeated by former state representativeTom Murry.[6]
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn | ||||||
| Thompson | Murry | |||||
| 1 | June 28, 2024 | North Carolina Bar Association | Tim Boyum | YouTube | P | P |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Carolyn Thompson | Tom Murry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiVote[8] | October 8–26, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 48% | 52% |
| ActiVote[9] | August 20 – September 22, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 49% | 51% |
Organizations
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Murry | 2,809,458 | 50.89 | ||
| Democratic | Carolyn Thompson (incumbent) | 2,710,863 | 49.11 | ||
| Total votes | 5,520,321 | 100.00 | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
The incumbent was JudgeValerie Zachary, a Republican.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Valerie Zachary | Ed Eldred | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiVote[8] | October 8–26, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 52% | 48% | – |
| ActiVote[9] | August 20 – September 22, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 53% | 47% | – |
Organizations
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Valerie Zachary (incumbent) | 2,879,049 | 52.28 | |
| Democratic | Ed Eldred | 2,628,453 | 47.72 | |
| Total votes | 5,507,502 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
The incumbent was RepublicanHunter Murphy, who lost to Chris Freeman in the primary. Freeman then went on to win the general election, defeating Democrat Martin Moore.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris Freeman | 532,794 | 62.64 | |
| Republican | Hunter Murphy (incumbent) | 317,807 | 37.36 | |
| Total votes | 850,601 | 100.00 | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | Chris Freeman | Martin Moore | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiVote[8] | October 8–26, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 53% | 47% | – |
| ActiVote[9] | August 20 – September 22, 2024 | 400 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 52% | 48% | – |
Organizations
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris Freeman | 2,844,286 | 51.72 | |
| Democratic | Martin E. Moore | 2,654,765 | 48.28 | |
| Total votes | 5,499,051 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
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