Who is running for District Court Judge, District 26, Seat 6 (Unexpired Term) in 2026?

District Court Judge, District 26, Seat 6 (appointed September 2026)

Kimberly Best was a Mecklenburg County district court judge from 2009 to 2021, served on the Superior Court from a November 2021 appointment until she narrowly lost the 2022 election for that seat, and then practiced law at The Best Law Firm⁴³². Governor Josh Stein appointed her on September 22, 2026 to fill the district court vacancy left by Judge Tyyawdi Hands's retirement². She is the only candidate on the November 2026 ballot for the unexpired term of Seat 6 in this partisan race¹.

• District Court Judge, 26th Judicial District, Seat 6, since her September 2026 appointment; earlier District Court Judge, 26th Judicial District, 2009 to 2021²⁴
• Superior Court Judge, Judicial District 26B, November 2021 to December 2022³⁴
• Principal, The Best Law Firm, PLLC; earlier a magistrate in Mecklenburg County and a middle school Spanish teacher²³
• B.A., University of Michigan, 1990; M.B.A., University of North Carolina at Charlotte; J.D., Indiana University School of Law, 1994⁴²
• Served as a district court judge from 2009, winning reelection without opposition in 2012 and 2016 and defeating Pat Finn 66.2 percent to 33.8 percent in 2020⁴³. Governor Roy Cooper appointed her to the Superior Court in November 2021 to replace retiring Judge W. Robert Bell; she lost the November 2022 election for that seat to Republican Matt Osman, 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent³⁴. After the 26th Judicial District Bar nominated her as its only candidate in March 2026, Governor Josh Stein appointed her to District Court Seat 6 on September 22, 2026 to fill the vacancy left by Judge Tyyawdi Hands's retirement; the appointment runs through December 31, 2026, and the November winner serves the rest of the term through 2028⁵². She is unopposed in November¹.