(The Center Square) – The lone North Carolina Supreme Court election is likely headed for a recount after nearly 5.5 million votes for Jefferson Griffin and incumbent Allison Riggs were split by 9,851.
In three races that should clear recount thresholds, Republicans swept to the state Court of Appeals bench in each. All 2,658 precincts were reporting.
Griffin’s 50.09%-49.91% win is well within the range for a recount request. In North Carolina, recounts for statewide races are allowed if the difference between the candidates is either less than 10,000 votes or 0.5% of votes cast, whichever is less.
In the appellate court races, Republicans Tom Murry, Valerie Zachary and Chris Freeman all triumphed.
The evening capped another chapter in a series of wins for Republicans across the state’s judicial system in the past few elections. It also solidifies both courts as firmly conservative in values for the foreseeable future.
Should Griffin indeed prevail, only one Democrat will be on the seven-member bench. At the Court of Appeals, Republicans are in 12 of 15 seats.
Court of Appeals Seat 12 was the only seat that was flipped against an incumbent. There, Murry defeated incumbent Democrat Carolyn Thompson 51%-49%, winning by just over 108,000 votes of more than 5.4 million cast.
Zachary was able to hold Seat 14 against Democrat challenger Ed Eldred 52.25%-47.75%.
Seat 15, previously held by Republican Judge Hunter Murphy, was won by Freeman over Democrat Martin Moore 51.8%-48.2%.
These three statewide races were the only seats up for grabs on the 15-member Court of Appeals. The court, in three-judge panels, issues rulings on proceedings for errors of law or legal procedure, not the facts of the case.
Appellate and Supreme Court judges hold their seat for eight years. North Carolina judicial races are partisan, a change that happened only recently.
Throughout election season, each candidate presented very different visions for the future of the courts.
Griffin called himself a conservative, while Riggs made progressive policies involving abortion and homosexuality fundamental aspects of her campaign.
As a Supreme Court judge, Griffin has said he will be “an originalist and a textualist” and said he plans to “uphold the rule of law, protect individual liberties, and maintain a constitutional and common sense approach to decisions that impact North Carolina.”
Though the incumbent to the seat, Riggs had never received a vote for the position. Riggs went from a 14-year stint arguing cases and serving as an executive director for voting rights at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice to a Court of Appeals appointment – filling the seat of a Republican who won a state Supreme Court seat election. Gov. Roy Cooper made that move in December 2022. The governor lifted her again on Sept. 11, 2023, to the state’s highest court.
Griffin is the sixth Republican in a row to win a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. Democrats held a 6-1 edge going into the 2020 election and lost three state Supreme Court races, reducing their advantage to 4-3. In 2022, Republicans won both races to gain their 5-2 majority.
In polling leading up to Election Day, the race was very close, with both candidates taking turns leading the polls.
