One justice of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and three judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years. These elections were partisan for the first time since the elections of 2002.[1] A law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017 cancelled primary elections for judicial elections in 2018 only, meaning that an unlimited number of candidates from any party could run in the general election.[2]
Democrats won all four races in November 2018, representing an increase of one Democrat on the Supreme Court and an increase of two Democrats on the Court of Appeals (with one Democrat elected to the seat he already held by appointment).[3]
The seat held by Justice Barbara Jackson was on the 2018 ballot.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Barbara Jackson (R) | Anita Earls (D) | Chris Anglin (R) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | October 26–29, 2018 | 659 (LV) | ± 6.0% | 22% | 44% | 19% | 16% | ||
| Public Policy Polling (D) | October 26–28, 2018 | 675 (LV) | – | 23% | 37% | 14% | 26% | ||
| SurveyUSA | October 2–6, 2018 | 561 (LV) | ± 5.0% | 15% | 43% | 22% | 21% | ||
| Harper Polling (R) | September 4–7, 2018 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 11% | 38% | 7% | 44% | ||
| National Research Inc. | June 7 & 9–10, 2018 | 600 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 35% | 35% | – | 29% | ||
| Civitas, Inc. (R) | February 6–8, 2018 | 1000 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 43% | 31% | – | 22% |
The seat held by Judge John S. Arrowood was on the 2018 ballot. Arrowood was appointed to the seat in 2017 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Douglas McCullough.
The seat held by Judge Ann Marie Calabria, a Republican, was on the 2018 ballot. Calabria did not run for reelection.
The seat held by Judge Rick Elmore, a Republican, was on the 2018 ballot. Elmore announced in 2017 that he would not seek a third term.[9]