Associate Justice Race (Hudson seat) – Robin Hudson (D) vs. Eric Levinson (R) (note: race is technically nonpartisan, partisan affiliation of the candidates will not be on the ballot)
Robin Hudson is now in her second term as an associate justice on the NC Supreme Court. But winning a third term won’t be easy. Republicans have been salivating over the prospect of taking her seat and have shown they’re prepared to spend big to make that happen. Hudson, however, is a survivor. The original plan was to take her out in the primary. Republicans fielded two conservative candidates, hoping that a competitive GOP primary and none on the Democratic side would push their two candidates into the general and push Hudson out. A substantial sum of money was spent in the primary – at least $1 million, an eye-popping amount for a primary in a judicial race, and most of it going toward attacking Hudson. Part of the money went to airing an ad blasting one of Hudson’s rulings, saying that she was soft on child molesters. (The ruling concerned what was arguably an ex-post-facto law targeted at this group.)
The ad backfired, probably causing more people to opt for Hudson, who actually came in first place in the primary. But Hudson’s victory was only a plurality, with the Republican vote being split. On the other hand, the general election will see higher turnout from Democrats, and that’s to Hudson’s benefit. The bad news: this is a midterm, Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting this year, and Democrats are more prone to leaving judicial races blank than are their Republican counterparts. (That’s part of the reason why Republicans, who used to be in favor of making judicial races partisan again, have backed off from that.)
Two weeks from now, Hudson will face off against Eric Levinson, the other candidate who made it out of the primary. Levinson is being backed by the Republican Party. The term is for eight years. The most recent financial reports have Hudson with about $99,000 cash on hand while Levinson had a little over $63,000. Outside money will probably be a big factor in this race and should come to the aid of Levinson.
The Supreme Court is looking to resolve a host of contentious issues next term. Republicans want to hang on to their court majority. Democrats are looking to take it away from them, and in doing so, gain control of at least one branch of the North Carolina government. This is a key race which has flown under the radar but will be critically important to the future of North Carolina.
Primary Results
42% Robin Hudson
37% Eric Levinson
21% Jeanette Doran
Robin Hudson
Associate Justice of the NC Supreme Court, 2007-Present
Party: Democratic
Residence: Raleigh, NC
Age: 62
Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia
Education: B.A., Yale University, 1973; J.D., UNC-Chapel Hill, 1976
Notes: NC Court of Appeals, elected in 2000, first woman elected to appellate court without being appointed first
Eric Levinson
Judge, Superior Court of Mecklenburg County, 2009-Present
Party: Republican
Residence: Cornelius, NC
Age: 47
Place of birth: Charlotte, NC
Education: B.A. Business Administration, University of Georgia, 1989; J.D. UNC-Chapel Hill, 1992
Notes: Associate Judge, NC Court of Appeals, 2003-2007
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
Really, John, sometimes your blogs are so slanted and like a tennis volley–back and forth, seemingly arguing with yourself.
You don’t bother explaining why that primary ad by the GOP-leaning Justice For All NC “backfired” (maybe because it was nasty, a lie, and a total misrepresentation of the truth?). The attack ad called Hudson a judge who “sided with predators.” The N.C. Bar Association denounced the ad, and six former N.C. Supreme Court justices called the ad “disgusting” and “false.” Yet Levinson didn’t even have the decency to decry that ad’s sick claim. How convenient (and dishonest) of you to leave all that out.
You belittle Hudson’s win over two GOP’ers as “only a plurality,” but then you say “On the other hand, the general election will see higher turnout from Democrats,” but then you follow that in the very next line with “this is a midterm, Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting this year.” Your reasoning and writing bounces around more than a basketball.
And the GOP is more enthusiastic about voting this year than Dems?? Really? Are you not reading Bitzer’s guest blogs? Just how are you measuring enthusiasm?