{"biography":"Jennifer Renee \"Jenny\" Wells is the incumbent District Court Judge for North Carolina\u2019s First Judicial District and is seeking election to retain that seat in the 2026 general election. The First Judicial District covers Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties, and its judges preside over criminal, civil, family and small\u2011claims matters, applying state law and ensuring due process for all parties involved. Judges are required to be licensed attorneys, residents of the district, and to demonstrate good moral character and competence; they are elected to four\u2011year terms, though a special election will be held in 2026 to fill the remaining two years of a vacancy created by Judge Edgar Barnes\u2019s retirement\u202f[11].\n\nWells was appointed to the bench by Governor Josh Stein in March\u202f2025 after leading a bar\u2011association poll of district attorneys and public defenders\u202f[11]. The governor\u2019s press release highlighted her experience as a public defender, noting that she would be a \u201cfair and hard\u2011working jurist.\u201d Since her appointment, she has earned a salary of roughly $162,000 per year\u202f[11]. As a registered Democrat, she will appear on the Democratic primary ballot for the 2026 judicial race\u202f[11].\n\nBorn and raised in northeastern North Carolina, Wells graduated from Dare County Public Schools before earning a bachelor\u2019s degree from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law\u202f[12]. After law school she returned to her home region, beginning an 11\u2011year tenure as an assistant public defender in the First Judicial District\u202f[12][11]. In that role she represented thousands of indigent clients, handling misdemeanors, felonies and complex negotiations, including high\u2011profile cases such as the defense of John \u201cJay\u201d Tolson in a second\u2011degree murder trial\u202f[11]. Her public\u2011defender experience is complemented by an early internship with the Southern Coalition of Social Justice during her second year of law school\u202f[11].\n\nWells\u2019s appointment was supported by the First Judicial District Bar Association, where she received the most votes among attorney nominees\u202f[11]. Since taking the bench, she has emphasized fairness, patience and an open\u2011minded approach to each case\u202f[12]. The 2026 election will be a contested judicial race, pitting her, a Democrat, against a Republican challenger, marking a departure from the typically uncontested district\u2011court contests in the area\u202f[11].\n\nBeyond her judicial duties, Wells remains engaged with the community that raised her, drawing on her local roots and legal experience to advocate for equitable treatment under the law. Her campaign materials present her as a dedicated public servant committed to upholding the integrity of the North Carolina judicial system\u202f[12].\n\n## Sources\n- [9] [Candidate Profiles \u2013 NC Voter Guide](https://ncvoterguide.org/profiles/)\n- [11] [Who is Jennifer Wells? Candidate for District Court Judge in 2026 - Albemarle Observer](https://albemarleobserver.news/2025/03/21/who-is-jennifer-wells-candidate-for-district-court-judge-in-2026/)\n- [12] [Judge Jenny Wells](https://www.judgejennywells.com/)","campaigns":[{"contest":"district_court_judge_dist_001_seat_04","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc District Court Judge District 01 Seat 04 (Unexpired)"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Jennifer","fullname":"Jennifer Renee Wells","lastname":"Wells","middlename":"Renee","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"district_court_judge_dist_001_seat_04","contest_title":"Nc District Court Judge District 01 Seat 04 (Unexpired)","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_court_judge","office_title":"District Court Judge","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"district_court_judge_dist_001_seat_04","contest_title":"Nc District Court Judge District 01 Seat 04 (Unexpired)","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_court_judge","office_title":"District Court Judge","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"district_court_judge","office_title":"District Court Judge","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"summary":"Jennifer Renee Wells, a former public defender appointed in 2025, is the incumbent District Court Judge seeking election in North Carolina\u2019s First Judicial District in 2026.","terms":[],"token":"24d34a0c0bdc0469"}