In 2026, incumbent North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls (D) will be up for re-election. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, as of September 11, 2025, Earls has raised over $585,000, while state Rep. Sarah Stevens (R), the only other candidate who has filed, has raised almost $141,000.

In elections going back to 2008, Democratic candidates have raised, on average, $1.3 million compared to the average Republican candidate’s $610,000. In total, Democratic candidates have raised $20 million compared to Republicans’ $11 million.

The total amount of funds raised has increased since 2008. From 2008 to 2016, with the exception of 2014, which had four races on the ballot, the total funds raised averaged $1.3 million. Since 2018, the first year when elections became officially partisan, the total funds raised averaged $5.9 million. The total raised so far in 2026 has already surpassed that of all pre-2018 elections except 2014.

Additionally, the average amount spent per vote has gone up for candidates of both parties. In 2008, the Democratic and Republican candidates, Suzanne Reynolds (D) and Robert Edmunds (R), both spent $0.21 per vote received. By 2024, Allison Riggs (D) spent $1.87 for every vote compared to Jefferson Griffin’s (R) $0.76 per vote. The number of voters has changed, too. In 2008, 3.1 million voters voted compared to 5.5 million in 2024.

As fundraising has increased, this has not necessarily translated into victories for the candidate with the most money. In the 15 elections held during this period, the candidate who raised the most money won seven times (47%) and lost eight (53%) times. If the candidate who raises the most money wins in 2026, it would be evenly split, while a loss would decrease the winning percentage to 44%.