FILE - Judge Sam J. Ervin IV makes a statement during the North Carolina Supreme Court Candidate Forum in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Upcoming primaries for state supreme court seats in North Carolina and Arkansas are putting the spotlight on how such races across the U.S. have grown in importance and partisanship in recent years. In North Carolina, Republicans are targeting Democratic Supreme Court Justice Ervin IV, whose grandfather presided over the Watergate hearings in the U.
Some $97 million was spent on state supreme court elections during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school. Conservative groups and super PACs historically have outspent liberal-leaning organizations in state court races.Spending and campaigning around the judicial races could intensify if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, which a leaked draft opinion indicates justices are prepared to do.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking the state's high court to recognize a right to abortion in the state Constitution. She also wants it to declare unconstitutional a 1931 near-total abortion ban that would go into effect if Roe is reversed.Michigan's court seats are among the top priorities for the Republican State Leadership Committee, which plans to spend more than $5 million this year on state court races, a record for the group, said spokesman Andrew Romeo.
Groups on the left, including the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, also are getting involved, although the group would not say how much it will invest in the races. The court earlier this year struck down maps for Congress and the state legislature that were drawn by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. In its 4-3 ruling, the North Carolina Supreme Court called the districts illegal partisan gerrymanders. Lawmakers will get a chance next year to redraw the congressional map because the one used for this year's election was approved on an interim basis, giving Republicans added motivation to try to unseat the two Democratic justices this year.
Gunner DeLay, a circuit judge and former state lawmaker challenging Baker, uses his campaign website to highlight his work in the Legislature to restrict abortion and tout his endorsement from Arkansas Right to Life.District Judge Chris Carnahan, a former executive director of the state Republican Party, and attorney David Sterling are the Republicans vying for Wynne’s seat.
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