{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nMichael 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].\n\n## Background and education\n\nByrne 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].\n\n## Career\n\nByrne 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].\n\nByrne 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].\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Michael Byrne (North Carolina) - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Michael_Byrne_(North_Carolina))\n- [2] [Michael C. Byrne | The Election Hub](https://www.theelectionhub.org/mecklenburg-county/michael-c.-byrne/2026-primary/north-carolina)\n- [3] [Administrative Law Judge Byrne: Winning As an Attorney and as a Judge](https://www.sspba.org/gen/articles/Administrative_Law_Judge_Byrne___Winning__As_an_Attorney_and_as_a_Judge_1083.jsp)\n- [4] [GOP's Byrne earns trifecta of endorsements in Court of Appeals race from state's 'BIG THREE' police groups](https://dailyhaymaker.com/gops-byrne-earns-trifecta-of-endorsements-in-court-of-appeals-race-from-states-big-three-police-groups/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"court_of_appeals_seat_01","county":"alamance","county_count":100,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"nc","title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 01"},{"contest":"court_of_appeals_seat_01","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 01"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Michael","fullname":"Michael Christopher Byrne","lastname":"Byrne","middlename":"Christopher","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"court_of_appeals_seat_01","contest_title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 01","county":"alamance","county_count":100,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"court_of_appeals","office_title":"Court of Appeals Judge","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"nc"},{"contest":"court_of_appeals_seat_01","contest_title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 01","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"court_of_appeals","office_title":"Court of Appeals Judge","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"court_of_appeals_seat_01","contest_title":"Nc Court Of Appeals Judge Seat 01","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"court_of_appeals","office_title":"Court of Appeals Judge","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"court_of_appeals","office_title":"Court of Appeals Judge","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Michael Christopher Byrne, a Republican, is the 2026 candidate for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat\u202f1, bringing decades of trial, appellate and administrative law experience.","terms":[],"token":"1ab9e68f4b5861f1"}