{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Brent Cloninger","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDavid Brent Cloninger is a Republican candidate for re-election to North Carolina District Court Judge, District 25, Seat 4, serving Cabarrus County, on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot. He was first elected to the Cabarrus County district court bench in the November 2014 general election [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Cloninger, Johnson, Wilhelm, Hamby win district court judgeships \u2013 Independent Tribune](https://independenttribune.com/news/cloninger-johnson-wilhelm-hamby-win-district-court-judgeships/article_2f09b760-6514-11e4-9b61-001a4bcf6878.html) (2014-11-05; article text is paywalled beyond headline/date, so career and education details could not be independently confirmed and have been omitted) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n[2] [Cabarrus County Contact Directory \u2013 NC Judicial Branch](https://www.nccourts.gov/locations/cabarrus-county/contact-directory) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21","firstname":"David","lastname":"Cloninger","middlename":"Brent","suffix":null,"token":"5db7120757f7c86b"},"token":"llNLaXhtUbknRlKG"}],"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 25 Seat 04"}