{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDavid Cole Phelps is a Democratic candidate for North Carolina District Court Judge, District 2, Seat 2, serving Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell, and Washington counties, on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot [2][3]. He is the founder of The Law Office of D. Cole Phelps, PLLC, based in Plymouth, Washington County [1].\n\n## Background and education\nPhelps earned his Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central University School of Law [4].\n\n## Career\nPhelps founded The Law Office of D. Cole Phelps, PLLC on October 18, 2013 [1]. His campaign says he has \"stood beside families across Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, Tyrrell, and Washington counties\" for thirteen years, with a practice covering criminal law, family law, and juvenile matters [2]. He has been certified as a Board Certified Specialist in Juvenile Delinquency Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, a certification effective through December 31, 2030 [1].\n\n## Office history\nPhelps previously ran as a Democrat for the North Carolina State Senate's District 1 seat, losing to Republican incumbent Bob Steinburg in the November 6, 2018 general election, 53.2% to 46.8% [4].\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [The Law Office of D. Cole Phelps, PLLC](https://dcolephelps.com/)\n- [2] [D. Cole Phelps for District Court Judge \u2013 ActBlue](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/phelps4judge)\n- [3] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing list (District Court Judge District 02 Seat 02), accessed 2026-07-20\n- [4] [D. Cole Phelps - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/D._Cole_Phelps)","campaigns":[{"contest":"district_court_judge_dist_002_seat_02","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc District Court Judge District 02 Seat 02"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"David","fullname":"David Cole Phelps","lastname":"Phelps","middlename":"Cole","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"district_court_judge_dist_002_seat_02","contest_title":"Nc District Court Judge District 02 Seat 02","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_002_seat_02","contest_title":"Nc District Court Judge District 02 Seat 02","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":"David Phelps was a candidate for Area 6 representative in the 2016 election.","terms":[],"token":"2b7e157d2f4b0b54"}