Allison Riggs wins NC Supreme Court primary, Court of Appeals judge loses GOP contest

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Incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs won the Democratic primary against Superior Court Judge Lora Cubbage, according to the Associated Press.

AP also called the Republican Court of Appeals race, reporting that incumbent Judge Hunter Murphy lost his primary to District Court Judge Chris Freeman.

Supreme Court: Riggs vs. Cubbage

Here’s where the vote count stands.

“I’m really pleased, we’ve worked hard over the last 14 months,” Riggs told The News & Observer Tuesday night. “...We have always been laser focused on the end game here, which is making sure that the judicial branch is working for the people of North Carolina.”

Cubbage called Riggs to congratulate her Tuesday night, according to a statement from her campaign.

Riggs, who lives in Chapel Hill, was appointed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in September following the retirement of Justice Michael Morgan, who sought the Democratic nomination for governor. Morgan lost on Tuesday to Attorney General Josh Stein, according to the Associated Press.

Riggs previously served on the Court of Appeals and worked for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, where she held the title of chief counsel for voting rights.

Cubbage, a Superior Court judge in Guilford County, began her legal career as an assistant district attorney. She went on to become an assistant attorney general and then a district court judge. She won her current seat as a Superior Court judge in 2018.

If elected, Cubbage would have been the second Black woman on the state’s highest court, alongside Justice Anita Earls. All other members of the state Supreme Court are white.

Riggs will face Republican Jefferson Griffin, a Court of Appeals judge, in November.

She said she believes that her experience on the court will distinguish her from Griffin in the general election.

“My values are protecting democracy, ensuring that women control their own bodies, and making sure that we read the Constitution as it’s meant to be read — which is protecting individual liberties,” Riggs said. “So I think by written opinion alone, it’s going to be easy to tell the stark difference and the right answer moving forward.”

The Supreme Court currently has a 5-2 Republican majority. The general election will determine whether Democrats keep Riggs’ seat, or if Republicans flip the seat and achieve a 6-1 majority.

Court of Appeals: Murphy vs. Freeman

Here’s where the vote count stands.

Murphy was the only judge on the Court of Appeals facing a primary challenger this year.

He was first elected to the court in 2016 after spending several years in private practice as an attorney in Haywood County.

The Supreme Court censured Murphy in 2020 for contributing to a “toxic work environment” after finding that his assistant and friend had sexually harassed and threatened female clerks in the office. Murphy failed to stop the behavior, the Supreme Court said, and downplayed it to investigators.

The 2024 primary was Murphy’s first time on a ballot since being censured.

Freeman is a friend of Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr., having worked with him when Berger was the district attorney in Rockingham County.

Neither Berger nor his father, Senate leader Phil Berger, endorsed a candidate in the primary race. But Freeman posted a photo on Facebook of himself in December with father and son, writing that he was “grateful for the help and support of Senator Berger and Justice Berger in my campaign for the North Carolina Court of Appeals.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop endorsed Freeman. A member of the ultraconservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus, Bishop is running for attorney general without competition in the primary.

Freeman will face Democrat Martin Moore in November.

The Court of Appeals is currently composed of 11 Republicans and four Democrats.