ELECTION RESULTS: NC Court of Appeals election results

The role of the NC Court of Appeals is to review proceedings of lower courts and check for errors. It decides questions of law, not questions of fact. The role of the Court of Appeals is to decide if the trial court correctly applied the law, or if there was prejudicial error in the conduct of the trial, according to the state website. 

In the Triad, voters had three seats to fill in the state Court of Appeals. Here’s how the races turned out.

Seat 12

WINNER: R – Tom Murry

D – Carolyn Jennings Thompson

In this race, as of 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Murry had 50.87 percent of the vote compared to Thompson’s 49.13. At the time, 99.8 percent of the precincts had reported in. According to NC state law, candidates only have the right to demand a recount of the votes if the difference between them and their opponent is less than one percent.

Seat – 14

WINNER: R – Valerie Zachary

D – Ed Eldred

In the race for Seat 14, Republican Valerie Zachary pulled ahead of Democrat Ed Eldred with 52 percent of the vote compared to 47.9 percent. 

Yadkinville resident Valerie Zachary was first appointed to the North Carolina court of appeals in 2015 by former Governor Pat McCrory. Zachary is married to former Rep. Lee Zachary.

According to her candidate questionnaire, Zachary noted that her Judicial philosophy is to ensure public confidence in the courts. She noted the importance of applying the law fairly to all regardless of party affiliation and working together with other judges on the Court of Appeals. She has never been sanctioned by the state bar.

Seat 15

WINNER: R – Chris Freeman

D – Martin E. Moore

Republican Chris Freeman won the race for Seat 15 with 51.5 percent of the vote just past midnight compared to his opponent, Martin Moore, who had garnered 48.5 percent. 

Freeman is currently serving his ninth year and third term as a district court judge. He is also serving his 11th year as an officer in the US Air Force JAG Reserves. He is also a former prosecutor. His website notes that he aims “to bring [his] steadfast commitment to conservative judicial philosophy to the appellate court level.”