Wake County District Judge Christine Walczyk (left) is facing off against Raleigh attorney James Whalen in one of the closest statewide primaries in North Carolina this year.
The Democratic primary race in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District has attracted a lot of attention this election cycle. But it’s not the only race that highlights the conflicting priorities of Democratic voters seeking to recover from key state and federal losses in recent years.
The party’s closest primary race may be the one for Seat 3 on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, a contest between longtime Wake County District Court Judge Christine Walczyk and Raleigh attorney and political newcomer James Whalen. The incumbent, Democrat Allegra Collins, is not running for reelection.
The winner will face Republican Superior Court Judge Craig Collins, who does not have a primary challenger, in November.
The Seat 3 primary has drawn more than 100 endorsements, with Democrats from the courts to the halls of the General Assembly to local offices weighing in on behalf of both contenders.
For Democrats, the stakes are enormous. The party has lost every Court of Appeals race in the state since 2020 — two years prior, the party won all three seats up for grabs. Those three judges are now the only Democrats on the Court of Appeals, and all three are up for election this year, meaning Republicans could hold all 15 seats on the court after November’s elections.
The two incumbent Democrats seeking reelection in November are Judges John Arrowood and Toby Hampson. Neither has a primary challenger.
Here’s what you need to know about the candidates in the Court of Appeals Seat 3 Democratic primary.
Christine Walczyk
Judge Christine Walczyk did not respond to requests for an interview with NC Newsline.
Endorsed by former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and former Justice Robin Hudson, two Democrats who served on the state Supreme Court, Walczyk has premised her candidacy on experience and preserving judicial independence. She has served for 19 years on the Wake County District Court.
“She spent a lot of time on the bench, and she seems to be very widely respected by her fellow judges,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), who serves on the state House Judiciary 1 Committee and has endorsed Walczyk. “She has been the lead judge in family court for many years, so I think that just reflects how her peers respect her.”
Harrison said in an interview with NC Newsline that she respects both candidates and thinks “either one would be great,” but prefers Walczyk because of her qualifications. “She has the resume and the experience to represent us well on the bench.”
Walczyk cites former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a Reagan appointee and the first woman to serve on the court, as a key inspiration for her judicial philosophy. On her website, she cites a quote from O’Connor stressing the importance of “maintaining the independent judiciary that the Framers sought to establish.”
Judges, Walczyk has said, should set aside politics and refrain from advocating for causes or ideas on the bench. In her view, taking a partisan approach diminishes the integrity of the judiciary. “I am committed to bringing integrity, impartiality, and hard work to the bench,” she said in a Dec. 1 post on social media.
Harrison said she does not view that level of impartiality as an impediment to the campaign, despite critics who say voters want a candidate who will take a strong stand on the issues that are important to them.
“We just want the fairest and the best judges,” Harrison said. “I don’t know why Democrats keep losing. I really don’t. But I don’t think it’s because of the kind of candidates we’re running. I think it’s the way the races have been run.”
Walczyk also has the endorsement of the North Carolina Association of Educators, the Durham People’s Alliance PAC, and the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The top Democrat in the North Carolina Senate, Democratic Leader Sydney Batch of Wake County, also backs her candidacy.
She would be the only Democratic woman on the Court of Appeals if elected, following the departure of incumbent Judge Allegra Collins.
“We need skilled and experienced leaders on the Court of Appeals — and a Court that truly reflects the people it serves,” Walczyk wrote on social media on Feb. 10. “Democratic women deserve a seat at the table.”
James Whalen
James Whalen, a Raleigh attorney who represented Justice Allison Riggs in the effort by Republicans to overturn her election victory, said he jumped into the race because Democrats need a candidate who can “protect our rights.”
“I have focused my career on protecting our rights in these high-profile cases,” Whalen said in an interview with NC Newsline on Thursday. “I’m proud of the work I’ve done as an attorney, but experience after experience has shown me that the only true way to safeguard our rights is to have state appellate judges who have the right background to be protectors of our rights.”
Whalen is a fresh face, with only five years practicing as an attorney — first under then-Attorney General Josh Stein on appellate cases for the North Carolina Department of Justice, and now in private practice focusing on constitutional and business issues. During that time, he has litigated on public education funding, elections and gerrymandering, issues that he said are central to his judicial campaign.
“We’re in a moment of crisis. We just are, all over the country. And in North Carolina, we’ve been in it for a little while now,” Whalen said, citing the nearly 30-year clash over equal funding for school districts and repeated fights over election maps. “We have taken a real beating in these judicial races.”
He said his relative inexperience makes it more impressive that he has the backing of five former N.C. Supreme Court Justices, including former Chief Justices Henry Frye and Burley Mitchell. The two justices who endorsed his opponent, he noted, did so before he entered the race.
“The five who had a choice between two alternatives all endorsed me,” Whalen said. “They certainly had questions about whether somebody who’s been an attorney for as long as I have would be right for the job, but they’ve done thorough research as people who are steeped in appellate law.”
He is also endorsed by the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the NC National Organization for Women, and the Progressive Caucus of the NC Democratic Party.
Whalen said while he has not served as a judge, he is the only candidate in the race to have litigated before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, experience that he said makes him better suited for the role and more familiar with the issues the court faces. Both Riggs and Justice Anita Earls also came from advocacy rather than judicial backgrounds, Whalen said.
“The ones who have been successful have not been trial judges,” Whalen said. “We need young people who understand the threats we face and are willing to be clearer with voters and have the right background to meet this moment.”
In his view, judges must be clear about their values and the importance of protecting civil rights. That openness, he said, does not compromise the neutrality of the court.
“I will not pick winners and losers based on things outside of the merits of the case. I will be impartial to the parties,” Whalen said. “I am not impartial to the rule of law. I am not impartial to justice. I am not impartial to our rights.”
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