Vote the PersonNot the party
Support the siteTake the quiz
Candidate

Sarah Stevens

Republican

Attorney in private practice; former state representative

Sarah Stevens is a Mount Airy family law attorney, licensed since 1986, who served in the North Carolina House from January 2009 until she resigned on June 16, 2026 to campaign full time for the Supreme Court254. She was House speaker pro tempore from 2017 to January 2025 and chaired House judiciary and election law committees453. She has not served as a judge and faces Democratic incumbent Justice Anita Earls on November 3, 2026 in this partisan race61.

  • Attorney in private practice in Mount Airy for about 40 years, licensed in 198626
  • Member, North Carolina House of Representatives, District 90 (Surry and Wilkes counties), January 2009 to June 16, 2026; speaker pro tempore, January 2017 to January 2025; chair of House judiciary committees for many sessions and of a redistricting committee in 2023 to 2024; she says she chaired House judiciary for 14 years and the Courts Commission for six years432
  • Has never served as a judge6
  • B.S. in social work, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1981; J.D., Campbell University School of Law, 19862
  • Has not held judicial office. She filed for the Supreme Court seat in December 2025, advanced without a primary because the Republican primary was canceled, and resigned her House seat effective June 16, 2026 to focus on the race351.

Record

  • Served nine terms in the North Carolina House, winning her last election in November 2024 with 77.9 percent of the vote, and resigned effective June 16, 202635.
  • In her State Board of Elections candidate statement she says she would follow the law as written and criticizes her opponent's rulings on voter identification and redistricting2.
  • In January 2026 the State Board of Elections found that two contributions to her Supreme Court campaign from registered lobbyists, of $6,800 and $1,500, were illegal because state law bars lobbyists from giving to sitting legislators; the board concluded the violation was not intentional, issued warning letters dated January 9, 2026 with no penalty, and the campaign returned the money910.

Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Spotted something wrong? Every claim links to its source so you can check it yourself.

Sources (10)

Every claim on this page links to one of these
  1. Candidate_Listing_2026.csv, 2026 general election candidate listNorth Carolina State Board of Elections
  2. Judicial Voter Guide: 2026 General Election (candidate-submitted biographies and statements)North Carolina State Board of Elections
  3. Sarah StevensBallotpedia
  4. Sarah Stevens (politician)Wikipedia
  5. Stevens resigns from NC House to focus on Supreme Court campaign (June 9, 2026)Carolina Journal
  6. NC Supreme Court candidates spar over past rulings, racial equity proposals (September 22, 2026)WUNC
  7. Disciplinary Decisions and Orders by the Supreme Court and the Judicial Standards CommissionNorth Carolina Judicial Branch, Judicial Standards Commission
  8. North Carolina Judicial Candidate Forums, 2026 (video forums with PBS North Carolina)North Carolina Bar Association
  9. NC Board of Elections finds Stevens campaign contributions illegal, but not intentional (January 13, 2026)NC Newsline
  10. Amid N.C. Supreme Court campaign, Rep. Sarah Stevens resigns from State House (June 9, 2026)WUNC