{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Christine Marie Walczyk","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"Christine M. Walczyk is a Democratic District Court judge for the 10C Seat\u202f2 of the North Carolina 10th Judicial District and is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat\u202f3 in the November\u202f3,\u202f2026 general election [1]. She has served on the Wake County District Court bench since her 2007 appointment and was re\u2011elected without opposition in 2020 and 2024, most recently winning 100\u202f% of the vote in the 2024 general election [1].\n\nBorn in Raleigh and raised in South\u202fFlorida, Walczyk returned to North Carolina in 1992 to attend law school. She earned a magna cum laude B.S. in Management with a finance concentration from Boston College\u2019s Carroll School of Management and received her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill in 1995 [3].\n\nBefore joining the judiciary, she co\u2011founded the Raleigh firm Grafstein &\u202fWalczyk, P.L.L.C., where she represented small businesses, indigent criminal defendants, and juveniles in delinquency matters for more than a decade [5][7]. Her legal practice emphasized access to justice for marginalized populations.\n\nAppointed to the District Court by the governor in 2007, Walczyk has been repeatedly elected by voters, most recently in 2024, and has held several leadership positions. She served as Lead Family Court Judge from 2013 to 2021, during which she introduced remote hearings, created an overflow courtroom to reduce backlog, and developed instructional resources for self\u2011represented litigants [7]. She currently serves as Lead Judge in the General Civil Court, overseeing the mandatory arbitration program and handling small\u2011claims appeals, evictions, and contract disputes [7]. Four chief judges\u2014three Democrats and one Republican\u2014have nominated her for these leadership roles, underscoring bipartisan respect for her judicial temperament [5].\n\nWalczyk\u2019s professional affiliations include the National Association of Women Judges\u2019 Judicial Independence Committee, the North Carolina Bar Association\u2019s Women in the Profession Committee, and chairing the Judicial Division of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys. She has taught paralegal courses at Meredith College and Wake Technical Community College and mentors law students through externships and community\u2011service projects.\n\nIn 2026 she is seeking a seat on the Court of Appeals, citing a \u201cpublic loss of confidence in the court system\u201d and a commitment to restore trust through impartial, non\u2011partisan decision\u2011making [5][8]. Her campaign emphasizes judicial independence, addressing racial inequities\u2014recognizing implicit bias and supporting resources for self\u2011represented litigants\u2014and bail\u2011system reform [7][8]. She has earned endorsements from former Chief Justice\u202fCheri\u202fBeasley, former Justice\u202fRobin\u202fHudson, the North Carolina Association of Educators, and numerous state legislators and judges [8][10].\n\nWalczyk resides in Raleigh, continues to serve as a district judge while campaigning statewide, and positions herself as the most experienced trial\u2011court judge in Wake County, offering a seasoned perspective to the appellate bench.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Christine Walczyk - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Christine_Walczyk)\n- [3] [Christine Marie Walczyk | The Election Hub](https://www.theelectionhub.org/mecklenburg-county/christine-marie-walczyk/2026-primary/north-carolina)\n- [5] [Home | Christine Walczyk](https://www.judgechristine.org)\n- [7] [Candidate Questionnaire: Christine Walczyk, NC District Court 10 C, Seat 2](https://indyweek.com/news/elections-news/candidate-questionnaire-christine-walczyk-nc-district-court-10-c-seat-2/)\n- [8] [In key NC Court of Appeals primary, Democrats compete to reverse six-year losing streak \u2022 NC Newsline](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/02/19/in-key-nc-court-of-appeals-primary-democrats-compete-to-reverse-six-year-losing-streak/)\n- [10] [NCAE Endorses Judge Christine Walczyk for North Carolina Court of Appeals | North Carolina Association of Educators](https://www.ncae.org/about-ncae/media-center/press-releases/ncae-endorses-judge-christine-walczyk-north-carolina-court-appeals)\n- [11] [The Political Beat Primary Candidate Guide: NC Court of Appeals Seat 3 \u2013 WSOC TV](https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/political-beat-primary-candidate-guide-nc-court-appeals-seat-3/NCCFPUF7SBFJZI2CHCTHUH5SQU/)","firstname":"Christine","lastname":"Walczyk","middlename":"M","suffix":null,"token":"017d35da7acab29b"},"token":"Zp5yai_-w3HrvrMw"},{"candidatename":"James Weldon Whalen","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nJames Weldon Whalen (Democrat) ran in the 2026 Democratic primary for Seat 3 on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, competing against Christine Walczyk. Whalen lost the March 3, 2026 primary [3].\n\n## Background and education\n\nWhalen grew up in Charlotte [1]. He earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2015, cum laude, where he served as student body president [2]. He earned his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2021, graduating with high honors, Order of the Coif, as a Chancellor's Scholar and Articles Editor of the North Carolina Law Review [2].\n\n## Career\n\nAfter law school, Whalen clerked for the Honorable Loretta C. Biggs of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, the first African American woman to serve as a lifetime-appointed federal judge in North Carolina [1][2]. He then served as an appellate attorney in the North Carolina Department of Justice's Office of the Solicitor General under Attorney General Josh Stein [2]. He is now an appellate attorney at Brooks Pierce LLP in Raleigh, where his firm has represented Governors Roy Cooper and Josh Stein [1][2]. He was part of the legal team that represented Justice Allison Riggs in the effort by Republicans to overturn her 2024 election victory [3].\n\n## Family\n\nWhalen lives in Raleigh with his wife Anna, their son, dog Sherlock, and cat Clue [1].\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Meet James Whalen \u2013 James Whalen for NC](https://whalenfornc.com/about)\n- [2] [James Whalen | Brooks Pierce](https://www.brookspierce.com/people-james-whalen)\n- [3] [In key NC Court of Appeals primary, Democrats compete \u2013 NC Newsline](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/02/19/in-key-nc-court-of-appeals-primary-democrats-compete-to-reverse-six-year-losing-streak/)","firstname":"James","lastname":"Whalen","middlename":"Weldon","suffix":null,"token":"b7494b850ae24ead"},"token":"mxuK3v8ZTmdbrVEU"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"court_of_appeals","office":"court_of_appeals","officedescription":"An appellate judge (North Carolina Court of Appeals or Supreme Court) reviews decisions of the trial courts for legal error, sitting in panels and deciding cases on the briefs, record, and argument rather than holding trials. The Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort.","officequalities":"- Review of trial-court decisions for legal error, deciding cases on the record, briefs, and oral argument rather than by trial.\n- Deep command of substantive and procedural law and of controlling precedent, since appellate rulings bind the courts below.\n- Judicial temperament and impartiality under the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct, including recusal when conflicts arise.\n- Clear, reasoned legal writing \u2014 appellate opinions are the law other courts follow.\n- Collegiality: appellate judges decide in panels and must persuade and be persuaded.\n- Integrity and independence from political or financial influence.","officeterm":8,"officetitle":"Court of Appeals Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 03"}