2022 State Supreme Court Election Preview

A majority of states have elections for state Supreme Court in November.  Here is a guide to the contested elections.  The elections in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas seem to be the most competitive.

Ballotpedia:  2022 State Supreme Court Elections

Alabama: 
Place 5: Greg Cook (R) faces Anita Kelly (D) for the seat of Michael Bolin (R), who is age-limited.
Place 6: Kelli Wise (R) is unopposed for reelection.

Arizona:  Justices James Beene, Bill Montgomery, and Ann Timmer (all R-appointed) face a retention election.

Arkansas:

Position 2: Incumbent Robin Wynne (D leaning) who got 49.5% in the nonpartisan primary, faces Chris Carnahan (R leaning), who got 29% in the primary.

California: Justices Joshua Groban, Patricia Guerrero, Martin Jenkins, and Goodwin Liu (all D-appointed) face a retention election.

Florida:  Justices Jamie Rutland Grosshans, John Couriel, Ricky Polston, Charles Canady, and Jorge Labarga face a retention election.  All except Labarga are conservative.  Some newspapers are recommended a no vote on the other four.

Illinois:  
District 1 (Cook County): Justice Mary Jane Theis faces a retention election.

District 2 (Northeast): Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran (R) faces Elizabeth Rochford (D).

District 3 (areas S, W of Chicago): Justice Michael Burke (R) faces judge Mary O'Brien (D).

Iowa: Justices Matthew McDermott and Dana Oxley (both R-appointed) face a retention election.

Kansas:  Justice Daniel Biles, Marla Luckert, Evelyn Wilson, Caleb Stegall, Keynen Wall, and Melissa Standridge face a retention election.  All but Stegall are D-appointed.

Kentucky:  

District 1 (west): Incumbent Christopher Nickell is unopposed.

District 2 (west-central): Shawn Alcott (conservative) faces Kelly Thompson for the seat of retiring Justice John Minton.

District 4 (Jefferson County): Angela McCormick Bisig faces Jason Bowman.

District 6 (north): Incumbent Michelle Keller faces state rep Joseph Fischer (R) in a race that has attracted much outside spending.

Maryland:  Justice Steven Gould (R-appointed) faces a retention election.

Michigan:  There are two full-term seats up for election. They are those of conservative R incumbent Brian Zahra and liberal D incumbent Richard Bernstein.  Bernstein attracted controversy for voting to uphold Whitmer's lockdown measures and then leaving the country to work from Dubai for months during the pandemic.  The other R nominee is Paul Hudson, an attorney who clerked for Ray Kethledge (6th Circuit).  The other D nominee is state rep (18-22) Kyra Harris Bolden of Southfield.

Minnesota:  Justices Gordon Moore and Natalie Hudson (both D-appointed) face a retention election.

Missouri:  Justices Robin Ransom and Zel Fischer (both R-appointed) face a retention election.

Montana:  Two justices faces nonpartisan elections in a state that has seen major conflict between the courts and the legislature.

Justice James Rice (moderate R), who got 76% in the primary, faces Bill D'Alton.

Justice Ingrid Gayle Gustafson (D-aligned) faces James Brown (R-aligned) in a race that attracted significant spending.

Nebraska:  Justices Jonathan Papik, William Cassel, John Freudenberg, and Michael Heavican face a retention election.

Nevada:  Linda Bell is unopposed for the seat of James Hardesty, who did not seek reelection.

Incumbent Ron Parraguirre is also unopposed.

New Mexico:  Michael Vigil (D) faces a retention election.  Incumbent Julie Vargas (D) faces Thomas Montoya (R).  Incumbent Briana Zamora (D) faces Kerry Morris (R).

North Carolina:  There are two seats up for partisan election.

Seat 3: Justice Robin Hudson (D) is retiring, as she is near the age limit.  North Carolina Court of Appeals judges Lucy Inman (D) and Richard Dietz (R) are unopposed for their parties’ nominations.

Seat 5: Justice Sam Ervin IV (D) is running for reelection.  The R nominee is Trey Allen, general counsel for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Court.

North Dakota:  Incumbent Daniel Crothers is unopposed in a nonpartisan election.

Ohio:  Three seats are up for election.

Justice Sharon Kennedy (R) will face Justice Jennifer Brunner (D) for the seat of age-limited Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.

Justice Pat Fischer (R) will face appeals court judge Terri Jamison (D).

Justice Pat DeWine (son of Governor Mike DeWine) will face appeals court judge Marilyn Zayas (D).

Oklahoma:  Justices James Winchester, Douglas Combs, Dustin Rowe, and Dana Kuehn face a retention election.  The latter two are conservative, while the first two are not.

Oregon:  Justice Roger DeHoog (D-appointed) faces a retention election.

South Dakota:  Justices Mark Salter and Patricia DeVaney face a retention election.

Texas Supreme Court:  There are three R incumbents up for election.

Place 3: Debra Lehrmann (R) faces Erin Nowell (D).

Place 5: Rebeca Huddle (R) faces Amanda Reichek (D).

Place 9: Evan Young (R) faces Julia Maldonado (D).

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: There are three R incumbents up for election.

Place 2: Mary Lou Keel (R) is unopposed.

Place 5: Scott Walker (R) faces Dana Huffman (D).

Place 6: Jesse McClure III (R) faces Robert Johnson (D).

Utah:  Justice Paige Petersen faces a retention election.

Washington:  Incumbents Mary Yu, Helen Whitener, and Barbara Madsen are unopposed in a nonpartisan election.

Results:

Alabama:  Greg Cook (R) won with 67%.

Arkansas:  Incumbent Robin Wynne (D leaning) won with 58%.

Florida:  All five justices were retained with 62-64%.

Illinois:  In District 2, Elizabeth Rochford (D) won with 54%.  In District 3, judge Mary O’Brien (D) won with 50.6%.

Kansas:  Six justices were retained with 65-73%.

Kentucky:  Thompson and Keller, the two less conservative candidates, won with 55% and 62%.

Michigan:  Incumbents Brian Zahra (R) and Richard Bernstein (D) were reelected.

Montana:  Justice Ingrid Gayle Gustafson (D-aligned) won with 54%.

North Carolina:  In Seat 3, North Carolina Court of Appeals judge Richard Dietz (R) won with 52.6% over fellow judge Lucy Inman (D).  In Seat 5, Trey Allen, general counsel for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Court, won with 52.4% over Justice Sam Ervin IV (D).

Ohio:  Justice Sharon Kennedy (R) was elected chief justice with 56%.  Justice Pat Fischer (R) and Justice Pat DeWine won with 57% and 56%.

Texas:  Rs won the five contested races with 56-57%.