{"biography":"**Status update: Smith lost the March 3, 2026 Republican primary for NC Court of Appeals, Seat 1, in a close statewide race, receiving 283,649 votes (48.5%) to Michael C. Byrne's 301,726 votes (51.5%); he will not appear on the November 2026 general-election ballot [4].**\n\nMatthew Brian Smith is a Republican candidate for North Carolina Court of Appeals, Seat 1 in North Carolina's 2026 elections. The North Carolina State Board of Elections' 2026 candidate filing list shows Matthew Brian Smith filing as a REP candidate on December 1, 2025 [1].\n\nAccording to the North Carolina voter file, Matthew Brian Smith is a registered voter in Union County, North Carolina, registered since 2008 (18 years), with party affiliation listed as Republican [2]. NC's bulk voter export publishes only year of birth, not a full date; the voter file lists Matthew Brian Smith's year of birth as 1972 [2].\n\nThe voter history file shows 12 elections voted in since 2016, most recently the March 3, 2026 primary election [3].\n\nNo additional published biographical information beyond the candidate filing and voter records was located. Voters with personal knowledge of Matthew Brian Smith can reach ballotproject.org with corrections or additions.\n\n## Sources\n[1] [North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 Candidate Filing List](https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Elections/2026/Candidate%20Filing/Candidate_Listing_2026.csv) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-21\n\n[2] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter registration file, accessed 2026-07-21 (https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/)\n\n[3] North Carolina State Board of Elections voter history file (`ncvhis_Statewide`), accessed 2026-07-21 (https://dl.ncsbe.gov/)\n\n[4] North Carolina State Board of Elections, 2026 primary election results (`results_pct_20260303`), published at [dl.ncsbe.gov](https://dl.ncsbe.gov/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-24","campaigns":[{"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":"Matthew","fullname":"Matthew Brian Smith","lastname":"Smith","middlename":"Brian","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"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":"Per the NC voter file: REP voter in Union County since 2008.","terms":[],"token":"83a2c9dc1743325d"}