{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Tom Langan","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nThomas Byron Langan is the sitting District Court Judge for North Carolina's 17B Judicial District, which serves Stokes and Surry counties, and is running for re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election [1].\n\n## Background and education\nLangan holds a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a law degree from Wake Forest University [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Thomas Langan - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Thomas_Langan) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-20 (Ballotpedia notes this page is outside its routine local-coverage scope and was last updated at his most recent election/appointment; the infobox facts used here -- present officeholder of the 17B district, Duke undergraduate, Wake Forest J.D. -- are otherwise unsourced elsewhere and are attributed to Ballotpedia only.)","firstname":"Thomas","lastname":"Langan","middlename":"Byron","suffix":null,"token":"1f45f750b69ebdbb"},"token":"Vwuzmz3HyT1k3Fhx"}],"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 23 Seat 02"}