{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"William (Bill) Wood","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"DEM","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nWilliam Arnold Wood II, who goes by Bill, is the incumbent Democratic judge for District 24D of the North Carolina 4th Superior Court Division, seeking re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election. The Democratic and Republican primaries for the seat, scheduled for March 3, 2026, were both cancelled, leaving him unopposed on the primary ballot [1].\n\n## Background and education\nWood earned his undergraduate degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University and his J.D. from the North Carolina Central School of Law [1].\n\n## Career\nWood spent nearly three decades as an assistant district attorney in the Guilford County District Attorney's office, specializing in prosecuting violent crimes [1].\n\n## Office history\nGovernor Roy Cooper appointed Wood to the Fifth Division of the North Carolina Superior Court in 2018 [1]. He won election to a full term that November, defeating Gavin Reardon with 58.3% of the vote in the District 18 race [1]. Following a 2018 legislative restructuring (House Bill 717), his seat on the Fifth Division was absorbed into the Fourth Division effective January 1, 2019, where he served as District 18D judge through 2024 [1]. He assumed his current seat, District 24D of the Fourth Division, on January 1, 2024; his term runs through December 31, 2026 [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [William Wood (North Carolina) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/William_Wood_(North_Carolina))","firstname":"William","lastname":"Wood","middlename":"Arnold","suffix":"II","token":"369997ef68a07b97"},"token":"wt2WHgK40V6oHyxe"}],"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 24D Seat 01"}