The NCGOP Doesn’t Care About Winning NC Supreme Court Races

RALEIGH – Many people around the country voted supported Donald Trump for president in 2016 with the Supreme Court of the United States in mind. The logic is that this gaffe, or that misstep can be forgiven because having a majority of justices that actually respect the original meaning of the constitution is of paramount importance.

Unlike on the federal level where their appointed for life, in North Carolina we elect our Supreme Court justices for eight year terms. Considering that fact, and the wide ranging consequences of who holds the majority on the State’s high court, you would think the N.C. Republican Party would prioritize supreme court races. Think again.

Republican former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Jackson was given the cold shoulder by the party in her 2018 re-election bid. The result: the only race for Supreme Court on the ballot was won by an avowed social justice warrior, yanking the bench even further Left.

Two years prior Republican former Justice Bob Edmunds faced a stiff re-election challenge, and he was largely left out in the cold as as well. At least he got some money spent on his behalf, but the half-effort from the NCGOP handed the seat over to a Democrat in presidential election year in a state that Trump won.

The worst part is that, according to Jackson, is that the party leadership, instead of having regrets that they didn’t do more, regret that they did anything at all for Edmunds. That makes their complete abandonment of Jackson make more sense, doesn’t it?

The Daily Haymaker points all this out, leveraging Jackson’s own account of what went down.

So Jackson requested help from the party leadership, with a plan in mind and firsthand knowledge of how important keeping this seat in Republican hands was, and she was rejected. Adding insult to injury is that the leadership thought previous half-measures to help Justice Edmunds were a waste of money.

More like a wasted opportunity.

Jackson goes on to say that the long term consequences of losing these Supreme Court seats does not seem to register with party leadership, adding they may be constrained as well because the NCGOP is not competitive financially with the Democrats.

Fundraising is falling short. Vitally important supreme court races are being dropped. Republican legislative majorities are wearing thin. A Democrat is in the Governor’s mansion. Not a very good record for the NCGOP of late.

Get the full comments from Barbara Jackson and what they mean at the Daily Haymaker, here.