{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Donna Forga","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nDonna Fay Forga currently serves as a District Court Judge for District 043 Seat 01 in North Carolina [1]. In December 2024, Chief Justice Paul Newby appointed her to serve as the Chief District Court Judge for District 43 [3][6]. As of May 2026, she is a candidate in the upcoming election for this judicial seat [1].\n\nForga\u2019s legal career includes service on the bench of the 30th Judicial District, which covers Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties [2]. She has previously filed for reelection to the district court in prior cycles [5].\n\n## Background and education\n\nDonna Fay Forga was born in 1964 [4]. She resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina [4]. Her professional background includes a long tenure as a district court judge for the 30th Judicial District, which covers Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in North Carolina [2]. More than 40 years prior to her judicial service, Forga was a client of Mountain Projects, Inc., where she accessed stable housing, quality childcare, and higher education opportunities that she states transformed her life [2].\n\nSpecific details regarding her early upbringing, religious affiliation, or the specific institutions from which she earned degrees are not provided in the available sources.\n\n## Career\n\nDonna Fay Forga\u2019s professional background includes service as a district court judge for the 30th Judicial District, which presides over Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in North Carolina [2]. In December 2024, Chief Justice Paul Newby appointed Judge Forga to serve as the Chief District Court Judge for District 43 [3] [6].\n\nPrior to her judicial career, Forga was a client of Mountain Projects, Inc. more than 40 years ago; she has stated that community action programs provided her with access to stable housing, quality childcare, and higher education, which led to opportunities that transformed her life [2]. Official records list her birth year as 1964 and note her residence in Chapel Hill, North Carolina [4].\n\n## Office history\n\nDonna Fay Forga serves as a District Court Judge for the 30th Judicial District, which presides over Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in North Carolina [2]. In December 2024, Chief Justice Paul Newby appointed her to serve as the Chief District Court Judge for District 43 [3][6].\n\nForga previously ran for election to the District 43 seat. She filed for reelection in a cycle that included other district court judges seeking retention or re-election [5]. In the 2018 general election, she was one of three newcomers elected to the bench in a historic race for District 43 [7].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Donna Forga - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Donna_Forga)\n[2] [IMPACT of MOUNTAIN PROJECTS - Donna Forga is a district ...](https://www.facebook.com/MountainProjects/videos/impact-of-mountain-projects-donna-forga-is-a-district-court-judge-for-the-30th-j/449117211254863/)\n[3] [N.C. Judicial Branch en X: \"Chief Justice Paul Newby has appointed Judge Donna Forga and Judge W. Curtis Stackhouse Chief District Court Judges in Districts 43 and 9, respectively. Read more: https://t.co/X6xxAhUqKQ https://t.co/3azNh3c5v7\" / X](https://x.com/NCCourts/status/1864731671704010866)\n[4] [Donna Forga \u2014 OfficialUSA.com Records](https://www.officialusa.com/names/Donna-Forga/)\n[5] [District court judges file for reelection | News | themountaineer.com](https://www.themountaineer.com/news/district-court-judges-file-for-reelection/article_1592ce16-73d4-11e8-a091-633b8eca1855.html)\n[6] [Newby elevates two to chief District Court judge | North Carolina Lawyers Weekly](https://nclawyersweekly.com/2024/12/06/newby-elevates-two-to-chief-district-court-judge/)\n[7] [Historic judge\u2019s race puts three newcomers on bench](https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/2235-historic-judge%E2%80%99s-race-puts-three-newcomers-on-bench)","firstname":"Donna","lastname":"Forga","middlename":"Fay","suffix":null,"token":"b24d4e31b1b859e0"},"token":"U3Z2NEBq7OHyH3eG"}],"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 43 Seat 01"}