Get ready for an insufferable Supreme Court race

Apocalyptic messaging. National dollars. A weakened GOP. North Carolina’s 2026 judicial contest will be brutal.

I'm already dreading next year's Supreme Court race. Not because it doesn’t matter — but because it will be unbearable to watch.

Over the last few days, we’ve gotten a preview of what Justice Anita Earls’s 2026 re-election campaign will look like. “Our courts are the last hope as the guardians of our democracy, and that is no exaggeration,” she told supporters in Durham.

If that makes you roll your eyes, you’re not alone. But here’s the thing: You’re going to hear it over and over and over again for the next 16 months. And it’s going to work.