{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"David A. Phillips","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nDavid Alan Phillips is a Superior Court Judge for NC Judicial District 38 (Gaston County), where he has served since his appointment by Governor Roy Cooper in 2018. He is seeking re-election in 2026.\n\n## Background and education\n\nPhillips is a lifelong Gaston County resident who attended North Gaston High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University School of Law in 1989. He was Board Certified as a North Carolina Criminal Law Specialist in 2001.\n\n## Career\n\nPhillips practiced criminal defense and civil law for 28 years through his private firm, The Phillips Law Firm, PLLC, in Gaston County. He earned the Reader's Choice Award for Best Attorney in Gaston County from the Gaston Gazette.\n\n## Family\n\nPhillips and his wife Paula have three children. His father, the Honorable James Ralph Phillips, served as a District Court judge in Gaston County.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [David Phillips (North Carolina) \u2013 Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/David_Phillips_(North_Carolina))","firstname":"David","lastname":"Phillips","middlename":"Alan","suffix":null,"token":"e0d60df1061bddcc"},"token":"WKlxo1nWnSQ8MWKE"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"superior_court_judge","office":"superior_court_judge","officedescription":"In North Carolina, a superior court judge presides over the general-jurisdiction trial court \u2014 felony criminal cases and civil cases above the district-court limit \u2014 riding a rotation among the counties of the judicial district. Decisions are subject to appellate review.","officequalities":"- Trial-court judge of general civil and criminal jurisdiction \u2014 presides over jury and bench trials, dispositive motions, and felony sentencing.\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 the substantive and procedural law that controls, and the published precedent.\n- Docket management across a rotating district while honoring due process.\n- Clear written and oral explanation of rulings, so the parties and the public can follow the reasoning.","officeterm":8,"officetitle":"Superior Court Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Nc Superior Court Judge District 38 Seat 01"}