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Michael Christopher Byrne
Office history
Current office and 2026 campaign
Michael Christopher Byrne is the Republican candidate for Seat 1 on the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 2026 election. He defeated Matt Smith in the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, 51.5% to 48.5% (301,726 votes to 283,649), and faces incumbent Democrat John S. Arrowood in the November 3, 2026 general election 1.
Background and education
Byrne was raised in Wake County. He is a graduate of Millbrook High School, holds a bachelor's degree from North Carolina State University, and earned his law degree from Campbell University School of Law 1. He is 58 years old and lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife and their rescue dog, Tilda 2.
Career
Byrne has served as an Administrative Law Judge for the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) since 2020. By his own account, he has authored nearly 400 opinions in that role and, before it, litigated 272 cases within the OAH as an attorney representing law-enforcement officers and public employees, in addition to personally arguing more than 20 cases before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court 2. Nine of his decisions as a judge have been appealed to the Court of Appeals, and all nine were unanimously affirmed 3.
Byrne has been endorsed by three of North Carolina's largest police organizations -- the National Association of Police Organizations, the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police, and the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association -- described as an unprecedented "trifecta" of endorsements in a North Carolina judicial primary 4.
Sources
Public filings
Candidates and officeholders are required by law to file campaign finance reports and statements of economic interest. The sites below don't support direct links to an individual record — search by last name on each.
North Carolina — campaign finance
- State, county, and municipal candidates — all in one system — NC State Board of Elections — Committee Search. Search by last name “Byrne”.
North Carolina — statement of economic interest
- Required for state-elected and many local officials — NC State Ethics Commission — Statement of Economic Interest Search. Search by last name “Byrne”.