{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Phillip Cornett","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nPhillip Leon Cornett filed as the Republican candidate for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 28 Seat 1, covering Montgomery and Stanly counties, for the November 3, 2026 general election [2].\n\n## Office history\nCornett was appointed to the North Carolina District Court for District 20A by Governor Roy Cooper on November 13, 2020 [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Phillip Cornett - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Phillip_Cornett)\n[2] [2026 Candidate Listing \u2013 NC State Board of Elections](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv)","firstname":"Phillip","lastname":"Cornett","middlename":"Leon","suffix":null,"token":"3e92093c6f512cb4"},"token":"ay2UL5PaVNbDzUOf"}],"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 28 Seat 01"}