Earls Retains N.C. Supreme Court Seat

Anita Earls won approximately 60% of the vote in Tuesday's statewide election to keep her seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. The result came as 57% of precincts had reported at the time of the projection. Earls defeated Republican challenger Sarah Stevens, who received about 40% of the vote. The victory secures a second eight-year term for the justice.

Earls first took her position on the state's highest court in 2018. She built a career as a civil-rights attorney before her election, where she challenged gerrymandering and voter identification laws. Stevens, a former state representative from Mount Airy, resigned from the legislature in June to pursue the judicial seat. She had not faced a competitive election since her initial state House run in 2008.

The campaigns followed different strategies during the final months of the race. Earls' team reported holding or attending roughly 200 public events since her announcement in October 2024. Stevens focused on private fundraisers and aired her first campaign advertisement within two weeks of the election. Financial reports filed between July 1 and October 17 showed Earls raised $4.7 million, leaving her with $1.8 million in cash. Stevens raised $223,000 and held $41,000 in cash at the close of the period.

N.C. Families First, a left-leaning group, spent $2 million on attack ads targeting Stevens. The ads focused on her legislative record regarding child sexual abuse lawsuits and her legal representation of a high-school teacher. Stevens maintained that she was acting in her capacity as a lawyer and that she supported the final version of the abuse statute of limitations bill.

Earls wrote on X Tuesday evening that serving another term was the honor of her life. She expressed gratitude to the voters of North Carolina. David McLennan, a retired political scientist at Meredith College in Raleigh, noted that the result keeps Democrats in a position to challenge the court in 2028. Three Republican seats will be up for election that year.

The court will retain its 5-2 conservative composition. Earls and Justice Allison Riggs remain the two Democratic members. The 2028 cycle will determine the balance of power before the state draws new voting maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. Those maps will influence General Assembly and U.S. House elections in 2032.