Incumbent
North Carolina Supreme Court winner?
$45.76
NOV 4, 2026
General Election
Voters choose the office holder.
Overview
Current roleJudge
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyProgressive Democrat
Age66 years old (Feb 20, 1960)
GenderFemale
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LocationNorth Carolina
BackgroundAssociate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
EducationWilliams College (B.A.)
Notable personal detailsAnita Sue Earls is an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, first elected in 2018 and installed in January 2019. She is a civil rights attorney who founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and previously served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division during the Clinton administration. Earls earned a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from Yale Law School and has taught at Duke University and at the University of North Carolina and University of Maryland law schools.
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Positions
Healthcare
Supports access to healthcare and has described protecting access to healthcare as a constitutional or policy priority; as a justice she has authored opinions that protect retired state employees’ health insurance benefits. Her public materials emphasize healthcare access as part of defending rights and protections for North Carolinians.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Supports reproductive freedom and access to healthcare while criticizing proposals to significantly restrict abortion; has positioned herself against opponents’ votes for strict abortion limits. She frames reproductive rights as part of protecting rights and freedoms under the state constitution.
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Climate & Energy
The candidate supports protecting a clean environment and has a record of legal advocacy for communities affected by environmental harms; endorsements from environmental groups indicate alignment with pro-environment policies. Her work with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice included legal actions addressing environmental impacts on communities.
News
Anita Earls is being discussed in the context of North Carolina voting rights and election politics. The biggest recent development is a federal judge’s ruling upholding the state’s photo voter ID law, which could affect turnout and remains a major issue for civil rights groups. She is also tied to broader Democratic efforts in North Carolina to mobilize rural Black voters ahead of future elections. More generally, election-related fights and spending are intensifying in the state and across 2026 races.
North Carolina’s photo voter ID mandate can continue as a judge upholds the law
RNC launches multimillion-dollar election integrity push in 17 states
North Carolina's electoral future may hinge on rural Black voters
Big money flows into state attorney general races as legal battles shape American politics
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
- Polls
- Endorsements
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