2002 North Carolina judicial elections

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Several justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court and judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected to eight-year terms by North Carolina voters on November 5, 2002. Party primary elections were held on Sept. 10. This was the last year in which statewide judicial elections were partisan.

The result of the election was that all incumbent Democrats went down to defeat, and only one Democrat won a seat that was open (i.e. the incumbent chose not to run for another term).

Supreme Court (Seat 1)

Incumbent G. K. Butterfield, a Democrat, had been appointed by Gov. Mike Easley and faced election for the first time. He was defeated by attorney Edward Thomas Brady, a Republican.

In the Republican primary, Brady had defeated Judge Ralph A. Walker.

North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Seat 1) Republican primary election, 2002^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Thomas Brady	162,956	50.24%
	Republican	Ralph Walker	161,420	49.76%
Total votes			324,376	100%

North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Seat 1) general election, 2002^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward Thomas Brady	1,159,476	53.87%
	Democratic	G. K. Butterfield (incumbent)	992,603	46.12%
Total votes			2,152,079	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Supreme Court (Seat 2)

Incumbent Bob Orr, a Republican, defeated North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Bob Hunter, a Democrat.

In the Democratic primary, Hunter had defeated attorney Bradley K. Greenway.

North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Seat 2) Democratic primary election, 2002^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Hunter	351,350	71.90%
	Democratic	Bradley K. Greenway	137,304	28.10%
Total votes			488,654	100%

North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice (Seat 2) general election, 2002^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Orr (incumbent)	1,189,751	54.65%
	Democratic	Bob Hunter	987,447	45.35%
Total votes			2,177,198	100%
	Republican hold

Court of Appeals (Seat 2)

Incumbent Wanda Bryant, a Democrat, was defeated by District Court Judge Ann Marie Calabria, a Republican.

In the Republican primary, Calabria had defeated Nathanael K. (Nate) Pendley.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 2) Republican primary election, 2002^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ann Marie Calabria	182,803	56.77%
	Republican	Nathanael K. (Nate) Pendley	139,180	43.23%
Total votes			321,983	100%

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 2) general election, 2002^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ann Marie Calabria	1,108,615	52.07%
	Democratic	Wanda Bryant (incumbent)	1,020,286	47.93%
Total votes			2,128,901	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals (Seat 3)

In the open-seat contest, Rick Elmore, a Republican, defeated George R. Barrett, a Democrat.

In the Democratic primary, Barrett had defeated Beecher Reynolds Gray. In the Republican primary, Elmore had defeated Fritz Mercer.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 3) Democratic primary election, 2002^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	George R. Barrett	256,016	53.53%
	Democratic	Beecher Reynolds Gray	222,263	46.47%
Total votes			478,279	100%

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 3) Republican primary election, 2002^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Elmore	178,759	57.85%
	Republican	Fritz Mercer	130,271	42.15%
Total votes			309,030	100%

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 3) general election, 2002^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rick Elmore	1,109,317	52.05%
	Democratic	George R. Barrett	1,022,078	47.95%
Total votes			2,131,395	100%
	Republican hold

Court of Appeals (Seat 12)

Incumbent Hugh Brown Campbell Jr., a Democrat, was defeated by District Court Judge Eric Levinson, a Republican.

In the Republican primary, Levinson had defeated Lorrie L. Dollar.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 12) Republican primary election, 2002^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Levinson	168,835	52.42%
	Republican	Lorrie L. Dollar	153,244	47.58%
Total votes			322,079	100%

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 12) general election, 2002^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Eric Levinson	1,089,728	51.01%
	Democratic	Hugh Brown Campbell Jr. (incumbent)	1,046,594	48.99%
Total votes			2,136,322	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals (Seat 14)

Incumbent Loretta Copeland Biggs, a Democrat, was narrowly defeated by Sanford Steelman Jr., a Republican. There were no primaries.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 14) general election, 2002^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sanford Steelman Jr.	1,083,194	50.86%
	Democratic	Loretta Copeland Biggs (incumbent)	1,046,689	49.14%
Total votes			2,129,883	100%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Court of Appeals (Seat 15)

In the open-seat contest, Martha Geer, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Bill Constangy, a Republican.

In the Democratic primary, Geer had defeated Marcus W. Williams.

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 15) Democratic primary election, 2002^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martha Geer	278,380	55.07%
	Democratic	Marcus W. Williams	227,092	44.93%
Total votes			505,472	100%

North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge (Seat 15) general election, 2002^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Martha Geer	1,073,423	50.35%
	Republican	Bill Constangy	1,058,485	49.65%
Total votes			2,131,908	100%
	Democratic hold

References

^ "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ ^a ^b "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "09/10/2002 Official Primary Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
^ "11/05/2002 Official General Election Results - Statewide". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved July 30, 2025.