{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Meader Harriss","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nMeader Williams Harriss III is a judge of North Carolina's 1st Judicial District [1]. He is running for re-election as District Court Judge, District 1, Seat 3, as a Republican in the November 3, 2026 general election, having filed his candidacy on December 5, 2025 [3].\n\n## Background and education\n\nHarriss earned his bachelor's degree from the College of Charleston in 2001 and his Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law in 2004 [1].\n\n## Career\n\nBefore his election to the bench, Harriss practiced law privately and then served as an assistant public defender beginning in December 2008 [1]. He was elected to the 1st Judicial District on November 4, 2014, unopposed, to a term that expired December 31, 2020 [1]; he continues to serve as an active District Court judge, currently assigned to Pasquotank County District Court [2].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Meader W. Harriss, III - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Meader_W._Harriss,_III)\n[2] [Meader Harriss | North Carolina Judicial Branch](https://www.nccourts.gov/judicial-directory/meader-harriss)\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List, accessed 2026-07-20 (https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv)","firstname":"Meader","lastname":"Harriss","middlename":"Williams","suffix":"III","token":"0f953a23ac321fa4"},"token":"xhiJrlT0yATuZ7ON"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"district_court_judge","office":"district_court_judge","officedescription":"In North Carolina, a district court judge presides over the high-volume lower trial court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and most family and juvenile matters (custody, support, domestic violence, abuse/neglect). Many litigants appear without lawyers.","officequalities":"- Judge of a high-volume district court \u2014 misdemeanors, smaller civil cases, and family and juvenile matters, often with unrepresented parties.\n- Judicial temperament: the willingness to listen, deliberate, and apply the law dispassionately to people whose lives are deeply affected by the outcome.\n- Impartiality and ethics under the North Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct, including recusal when conflicts arise.\n- Working knowledge of family, juvenile, and criminal procedure and the precedent that controls.\n- Efficient management of a heavy docket while honoring due process.\n- Accessibility and clarity for the many who appear without counsel.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"District Court Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc District Court Judge District 01 Seat 03"}