I’m almost certain Justice Phil Berger Jr. is preparing to run for chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court in 2028.
That’s how I read his announcement Thursday that he won’t seek reelection to his seat as an associate justice. Berger Jr. says he’ll serve out his term and is considering other ways to serve the state. He hasn’t announced another campaign, but he left us with this: “my commitment to North Carolina and the law does not end with this term.”
Some people have asked me whether that means a run for attorney general. I’d put those chances at almost nil. Assuming Jeff Jackson seeks reelection, I think Berger would get hammered. Jackson beat Dan Bishop in 2024 and would enter another campaign with the advantages of incumbency. Berger Jr. has a much more plausible path to leading the judicial branch.
This, of course, assumes that Chief Justice Paul Newby will be retiring. This, too, I’m almost certain of.
You may remember that back in 2023, lawmakers raised the mandatory retirement age
