{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Mary G. Alphin","chatgptsummary":null,"notes":null,"party":"REP","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nMary G. Alphin is the incumbent Clerk of Superior Court for Lenoir County, North Carolina, and is running for re-election as the Republican candidate in the November 3, 2026 general election [3]. The Clerk of Superior Court is a constitutional officer who handles judicial functions\u2014including probate, adoptions, guardianship, and civil hearings\u2014as well as administrative duties such as filing, processing, indexing, and maintaining court records, and serves as the office's comptroller for the funds that flow through the court system [1].\n\n## Career\n\nAlphin has spent more than 17 years working in the Lenoir County Clerk's office, and assumed her current role after the retirement of former Clerk Dawn Stroud, who considered her the most qualified successor [1]. She holds jurisdiction over probate matters (wills and estate administration), adoptions, incompetency cases, guardianship proceedings, and civil matters including land condemnation and property foreclosures [1]. Alphin leads a staff of 20 co-workers, including five assistant clerks, a bookkeeper, and 14 deputy clerks, describing herself as \"the leader\" of an office she prefers to run collaboratively [1]. On the importance of accuracy in casework, she has said: \"Everyone that works in this office knows that the papers and documents they deal with are people's lives\" [1]. Her office is preparing for the April 2025 rollout of Justice Enterprise, a new system that will move Clerk's-office operations to a paperless workflow, which she has said will require significant overtime from her staff [1].\n\n## Office history\n\nAlphin previously ran for Clerk of Superior Court in the November 8, 2022 general election as the Republican nominee, facing Democrat Brooketah C. Banks and unaffiliated candidate Rachel C. Turner [2].\n\n## Sources\n\n[1] [Mary Alphin reflects on her role as Lenoir County Clerk of Superior Court - Neuse News](https://www.neusenews.com/index/2024/8/Mary%20Alphin%20Reflects%20on%20Her%20Role%20as%20Lenoir%20County%20Clerk%20of%20Superior%20Court) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[2] [Mary G. Alphin (Lenoir County Clerk of Superior Court, North Carolina, candidate 2022) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Mary_G._Alphin_(Lenoir_County_Clerk_of_Superior_Court,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2022)) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing listing (`Candidate_Listing_2026.csv`) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-19","firstname":"Mary","lastname":"Alphin","middlename":"Gooch","suffix":null,"token":"0498f2436802e984"},"token":"q9OSy2-XXbLBArU_"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":null,"o.office":"clerk_of_superior_court","office":"clerk_of_superior_court","officedescription":"In North Carolina, the clerk of superior court keeps the records of the trial courts and also serves as an ex-officio judge of probate and over estates, guardianships, and certain special proceedings. It is both a records office and a judicial one.","officequalities":"- Records management for the trial courts, in conformity with North Carolina procedure and the orders of the judges.\n- Judicial responsibility over probate, estates, guardianships, and special proceedings \u2014 the clerk decides these matters.\n- Financial controls for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines, estate funds, and trust funds, with public accountability.\n- Supervision of a clerical staff handling high case volume and frequent statutory deadlines.\n- Attention to legal detail and sensitivity with a public often dealing with death or incapacity.\n- Administrative reliability \u2014 the office's filings are legally binding and its records are evidence.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Clerk of Superior Court","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":null,"title":"Lenoir County Clerk Of Superior Court"}