Anita Earls, Democrat-affiliated, won the election to the North Carolina Supreme Court, defeating Republican-affiliated candidates Barbara Jackson and Christopher Anglin. She won 49.3 percent of the votes with 83 of 100 counties reporting.
Earls previously worked as an attorney and civil rights advocate for 30 years. She founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton administration and worked on the U.S. Supreme Court case Covington v. North Carolina, in which the Supreme Court decided North Carolina's legislative districts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered.
Before the results were called, Nida Allam, third vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said she wanted to see Earls elected to the Supreme Court.
“In North Carolina, we want to see elected officials, Democrats, who are going to bring positive change to the state," she said.
Earls' history of voting rights activism earned support from voters.
"I'm passionate about her as an individual," said Landen Gambill, a Chapel Hill resident. "I think (Earls) is going to be what’s needed on the court."
Ava Erfani, a campaign intern for Earls, said she became involved as an intern after someone informed her of the potential influence of her Earls' campaign.
"For me, I heard about her campaign, and a judge in Raleigh told me that her race would be one of the most monumental campaigns in North Carolina, if not the country," Erfani said. "So I looked her up and was really impressed by her work with social justice and how she’s sued the General Assembly several times and how much she cares made me want to get involved with the campaign.”
This victory marks Earls' first time being elected to office.
