ELECTION RESULTS: In local judicial races, several candidates win seats and won’t face contests in the fall

While judicial races are often down ballot races with low voter information, in this year’s local judicial races, thousands of voters made their choices known, in both Guilford and Forsyth Counties. Many of the candidates do not have opponents in the opposing party so their wins tonight represent wins to the final seat.

NC SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24B SEAT 1 – Republican

Winner: Georgia Nixon

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., with 78 percent of precincts reporting in, Georgia Nixon led her opponent, Tab Hunter, by more than 14 percentage points (Nixon had 57 to Hunter’s 43 percent.)

Analysis: Nixon said during a recent candidate forum that as a judge, she would practice fairness and “create an environment where everybody will be heard.” Nixon was sanctioned in 2013 by the state bar for her actions relating to two separate cases. In the end, Nixon’s general good standing and good behavior kept her from having her license suspended. Nixon currently runs her own private practice and has served on Jamestown Town Council for 12 years. She’s been practicing law since 1991. When asked about minors turning to the courts to seek abortions in NC, Nixon said she is pro-choice.

Nixon will face Democrat Stephanie Reese in November.

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24 SEAT 5 – Democrat

Note: There are no Republicans running in this race so Baker runs unopposed in November and is the prospective winner of this race.

Winner: Walter Trip Baker

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., Walter Trip Baker had 62 percent of the vote compared to his opponent, John Parker Stone, who had 38 percent. By that time, 85 percent of precincts were reporting in.

Analysis: Walter Trip Baker was first appointed to district court in 2023 by Gov. Roy Cooper. Prior to that, Baker served as an assistant district attorney in Guilford County and was a solo practitioner at Baker Law Offices. In total, he has 20 years of legal experience. During a candidate forum, Baker said that his philosophy of law is to take his time and to do research and “lean” on other attorneys if needed to make a decision in a case. He said that he is pro-choice and has presided over hearings involving minors seeking abortions in the state.

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24 SEAT 10 – Democrat

Note: There are no Republicans running in this race so Armstrong runs unopposed in November and is the prospective winner of this race.

Winner: Charlene Armstrong

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., Armstrong had pulled 72 percent of the vote compared to Moshera Mills’ 28 percent, with 85 percent of precincts reporting in.

Analysis: Charlene Armstrong has worked for 27 years as an attorney, 18 of those years in Guilford County. During a candidate forum, she said that she is pro-choice and that she’s represented “young ladies who need to have that decision made for them and it was heart-wrenching when judges decided for whatever reason not to approve that decision because the judges had whatever opinion, and these young ladies’ plans for their future and they could not talk to their parents about it.” 

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24 SEAT 12 – Democrat

Note: There are no Republicans running in this race so Smith runs unopposed in November and is the prospective winner of this race.

Winner: Kelvin Smith

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., incumbent Kelvin Smith had won his seat again after pulling 45 percent of the vote. His opponents, Cynthia Hatfield and ShaKeta D. Berrie, had pulled 28 and 27 percent of the vote, respectively.

Analysis: Incumbent Kelvin Smith was first elected to district court in 2020 after beating opponent Gavin Reardon in the election. He was then appointed by Gov. Cooper to a different vacant seat. When asked about minors turning to the courts to seek abortions in NC, Smith said that “a lady justice, allegedly, is blind. So your personal perspective should not matter whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice.”

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24 SEAT 13 – Democrat

Note: There are no Republicans running in this race so Tomlin runs unopposed in November and is the prospective winner of this race.

Winner: Brian Tomlin

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., incumbent Brian Tomlin had rewon his seat after pulling 65 percent of the vote with 85 percent of precincts reporting in. His opponent, Gabriel Kussin, had gotten 35 percent of the vote.

Analysis: Incumbent Brian Tomlin was appointed to an open seat in 2019 by Gov. Roy Cooper and was then re-elected in 2020 after winning the primary election against Moshera Mills. Tomlin has worked as a lawyer and a judge for a combined 27 years. Prior to that, he worked as a news reporter for 11 years, five of them at the News & Record. On his website, he notes that during his time practicing law, he’s seen “the darkest sides of the human population” but that he’s “hopeful for our future.” 

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 24 SEAT 14 – Democrat

Note: There are no Republicans running in this race so Gause runs unopposed in November and is the prospective winner of this race.

Winner: Tomakio Gause

Numbers: By 10:30 p.m., Tomakio Gause had pulled 55 percent of the vote with 85 percent of precincts reporting in. Her opponents, Stephanie Goldsborough and William H. Hill, Jr. had 30 and 15 percent of the vote, respectively.

Analysis: Tomakio Gause first ran for District Court in 2020 and lost to Carolina Tomlinson-Pemberton in the primary election. Gause has worked in private practice for the last 13 years and has worked in law for 18, representing indigent criminal and civil clients. She said she is pro-choice and that she would reach out to other attorneys if there’s anything she doesn’t know while sitting as a judge, “because I don’t know everything and I’m perfectly fine admitting I don’t know everything,” she said.

NC DISTRICT COURT JUDGE DISTRICT 31 SEAT 10 – Democrat

Winner: Shonna Alexander

Numbers: With 100 percent of precincts reporting by 10:45 p.m., Shonna Alexander won the seat with 43 percent of the vote. In second place came Lauren Tuttle with 30 percent and then Andrew Keever in third, with 27 percent of the vote.

Analysis: Attorney Shonna Alexander grew up in Winston-Salem and passed the bar in 1999. She also previously served as a magistrate judge. In 2008, Alexander was suspended from practicing law for three years, but was able to get reinstated after one year due to good behavior. The suspension stemmed from the years 2005-06 in which Alexander failed to appear in court multiple times on behalf of one client and was unresponsive to another client. Alexander faces Republican Erin Brock in November.