5 State Supreme Court Races to Watch on Election Day

Twenty-three states are electing state supreme court justices on November 3. Control of a court is directly at stake in only a few, but races in Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina and Washington could shape the courts that decide abortion, redistricting and voting cases.

By Quinn BallardPublished

As of October 31, 2026. Election Day is November 3.

State supreme courts often have the final say on questions of state law, including abortion, redistricting, voting rules and environmental protections. This November, 23 states are holding elections for their highest courts, according to Ballotpedia, and 32 states hold supreme court elections at some point in 2026.

These races come in three forms:

  • Partisan elections, where candidates run with party labels.
  • Nonpartisan elections, where no party label appears, though parties often back candidates.
  • Retention elections, where voters decide yes or no on whether a sitting justice keeps the job.

Only Montana’s race could change a court’s ideological majority this year. Several others matter for future cycles, especially 2028.

Spending is heavy. The ACLU alone says it has spent about $5.5 million on voter outreach in the Michigan, Montana and North Carolina races.

Michigan: Two seats, six candidates

The race: Six candidates are running for two seats, and the top two vote-getters win. Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh, first elected in 2018, is seeking a second eight-year term. Justice Noah Hood, appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2025 after Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement retired, is running for his first full term.

How it works: Political parties nominate supreme court candidates at conventions, but no party labels appear on the ballot.

CandidateNominated byBackground
Megan CavanaghDemocratic PartyIncumbent chief justice
Noah HoodDemocratic PartyIncumbent justice
Casandra Morse-BillsRepublican PartyCircuit judge, northern Michigan
Michael WarrenRepublican and Libertarian partiesOakland County circuit judge
Thomas HoweU.S. Taxpayers PartyNot licensed to practice law in Michigan
Jody WhiteU.S. Taxpayers PartyNot licensed to practice law in Michigan

Michigan law requires justices to be licensed attorneys in the state, so Howe and White couldn’t take office if elected, the Michigan Advance and Michigan Public reported.

What’s at stake: Democratic-nominated justices hold a 6–1 majority. Even if both Republican nominees won, Democrats would keep a 4–3 majority.

Missouri: A retention vote after a redistricting fight

The race: Judge Paul Wilson, appointed in 2012 by then-Gov. Jay Nixon (D), faces a yes-or-no retention vote. He has no opponent.

Why it’s notable: The court was at the center of Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting fight this year.

  • In March, the court ruled 4–3 that the Republican-controlled legislature could redraw congressional lines before the next census. Wilson wrote the dissent.
  • On September 3, the court ruled unanimously that a citizen referendum petition against the new map was valid. That means the 2025 map, which would have targeted Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s district, can’t be used unless voters approve it in a November referendum. The 2022 map is being used instead.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court declined to disturb that outcome on three occasions in September.

What’s at stake: The court’s balance isn’t. Justices appointed by Republican governors hold a 5–2 majority. The state’s Judicial Performance Review Committee recommended that Wilson be retained. Justices rarely lose retention elections; Wilson received about 63% “yes” votes in his last retention election. [CHECK: confirm figure and year.]

Montana: The one seat that could change a majority

The race: Flathead County District Judges Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson are running to replace Justice Beth Baker, who is retiring after 16 years. It’s a rematch: Eddy won June’s primary 51.4% to 48.6%, a margin of about 7,600 votes. Wilson also ran in 2024 and lost.

Party involvement: The race is officially nonpartisan, but parties have taken sides.

  • Wilson has the backing of the Montana Republican Party, which gave his campaign $20,000 under a new state law that allows parties to contribute to judicial candidates. He spoke at the party’s winter kickoff in February and describes himself as a constitutional conservative.
  • Eddy has endorsements from Montana Conservation Voters, the state’s largest public employee union and the Montana Sportsmen Alliance. She says she won’t accept party money or attend party events, and has emphasized the state constitution’s environmental protections.

Outside groups have spent heavily on TV ads, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. [CHECK: confirm the roughly $2.25 million total.]

What’s at stake: The court is generally described as having a 4–3 liberal-leaning majority, with Baker sometimes acting as a swing vote. A Wilson win could shift the court’s direction, and two more seats are up in 2028. Voters are also deciding a ballot measure that would write nonpartisan judicial elections into the state constitution, after Republican legislators tried unsuccessfully to make the races partisan.

North Carolina: Building toward 2028

The race: Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, is defending her seat against Republican Sarah Stevens, a former state legislator. North Carolina’s supreme court elections are partisan.

Background: Republicans won a majority on the court in 2022. Within months, the new majority reversed the court’s earlier rulings that had struck down a voter ID law and legislative maps.

The state’s judicial elections have switched back and forth:

  • Partisan for much of the 20th century.
  • Nonpartisan starting in the early 2000s, when Democrats controlled the legislature.
  • Partisan again under a 2016 law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature after a Democratic-backed candidate won a seat that gave liberals a majority.

Democratic Justice Allison Riggs won her 2024 race by 734 votes after months of legal challenges.

What’s at stake: Republicans hold a 5–2 majority. A Stevens win would make it 6–1. Three Republican justices are up in 2028, and at least one has said he won’t run again. That’s why both parties see this seat as a building block. Earls has spent about $4.2 million, according to the Brennan Center, and a Democratic-aligned PAC has run ads against Stevens. [CHECK: confirm Earls spending figure.]

Washington: Five of nine seats on the ballot

The races: Washington’s elections are nonpartisan, but the state Republican Party and Democratic officials have endorsed candidates.

SeatCandidatesParty endorsements
Chief Justice Debra Stephens’ seatStephens (incumbent, since 2008) vs. attorney Todd BloomGOP backs Bloom
Justice Theo Angelis’ seatAngelis (appointed 2026) vs. retired municipal judge Dave LarsonGOP backs Larson
Justice Colleen Melody’s seatMelody (appointed 2026) vs. attorney Scott EdwardsGOP backs Edwards
Open seatSuperior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell vs. appeals Judge Ian BirkGOP backs O’Donnell, who also has some Democratic endorsements
Open seatSuperior Court Judge David Stevens vs. Superior Court Judge Jaime HawkGOP backs Stevens

Democratic officials and groups including Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates support the three incumbents, Birk and Hawk.

What’s at stake: Experts don’t expect a major ideological shift. The court is expected to hear cases on bail bond policy and the state’s new income tax on high earners, which an initiative on this year’s ballot would also repeal.

Sources

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