More Outside Groups Financing North Carolina Judicial Races

North Carolina judicial races have historically attracted less attention – and money – than races for more partisan political offices.

But that is starting to change. Campaign observers this year have noticed an influx of cash into the race for state Supreme Court, including attack ads against incumbent Justice Robin Hudson last spring.

Suzanne Reynolds is the interim dean of the Wake Forest School of Law. She also ran for the state Supreme Court in 2008, narrowly losing to incumbent Robert Edmunds. On Tuesday, Reynolds will moderate a Supreme Court candidate's roundtable at Wake Forest.

WFDD's Paul Garber spoke to Reynolds about the state of judicial elections in North Carolina and what has changed since she ran 6 years ago.

Reynolds explains why she believes North Carolina has become a target for out-of-state money. Reynolds says the flow of money into court races comes with the risk of conflict of interest. She also offers a solution for how to stem the flow of cash into the system.

The roundtable is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the Worrell Professional Center at Wake Forest. All state Supreme Court candidates have been invited. As of Friday, organizers have received confirmations from candidates Mark Martin, Ola Lewis, Bob Hunter, Sam Ervin IV, Robin Hudson and Cheri Beasley.

For more information on judicial races, including local races, Reynolds suggests voters visit electncjudges.org.