Democratic Justice Michael Morgan not running for re-election to NC Supreme Court

Associate Justice Michael Morgan announced on Twitter Thursday morning that he will not run for re-election to retain his seat on the state Supreme Court.

“With the incredibly good fortune to be the only person ever in NC to serve in [four] different judgeships over my 34 years of judicial service, I shall not seek to be reelected in 2024 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina,” he wrote.

Morgan is one of two Democrats on the Republican-dominated high court. Since Republicans picked up two seats in last year’s midterms, flipping the court to a 5-2 Republican majority, the Supreme Court has issued landmark rulings in favor of the GOP on North Carolina’s voter ID law, gerrymandering and felony disenfranchisement.

If Republicans win Morgan’s seat, that would leave Associate Justice Anita Earls as the lone Democrat. After Morgan, Earls is also the next member of the court up for reelection in 2026. Three Republicans are up for reelection in 2028.

Chief Justice Paul Newby will reach the mandatory retirement age before his term ends and could have to give up his seat in 2027, but a bill pending in the legislature would raise the retirement age for judges and allow him to serve a full term; if it passed, that bill would also have allowed Morgan to serve the major-