State Supreme Court races in places like Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina likely will see an influx of cash this year as voters head to the polls to determine the makeup of those courts.
Once sleepy affairs, state Supreme Court races are receiving growing attention as the states’ highest courts have played a deciding role on key issues like redistricting, election certification and reproductive rights. This year, majorities are on the line in several states.
Past races have amassed millions of dollars in spending. More than $40 million was spent in last year’s Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, while Pennsylvania set its spending record with more than $19 million being poured into its state Supreme Court race.
Here’s a look at the state Supreme Court races to watch ahead of November:
Ohio
Voters will head to the polls in the Buckeye State to choose three justices as Republicans look to defend their 4-3 conservative majority on the state Supreme Court.
Incumbent Justices Melody Stewart and Michael Donnelly, both Democrats, are running for reelection. Stewart is vying to defend her seat against Justice Joe Deters, a Republican whose term is up in 2026 but wants to opt for Stewart’s seat, which next expires in 2030, according to The Associated Press.
Deters’s decision to run against another incumbent creates a vacancy on the court, with Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Dan Hawkins, a Republican, running against Appellate judge Lisa Forbes, a Democrat, for the seat.
The court will have to tackle questions involving litigation over abortion in the wake of an amendment that enshrined protections for the procedure into the state constitution.
Although Democrats have a shot at flipping the state’s high court, they face an uphill battle because the Ohio Supreme Court has held a conservative majority since the mid-1980s, according to the AP.
Michigan
Partisan control of the Michigan state Supreme Court is potentially on the line this year.
Justice David Viviano, a Republican-nominated justice, announced last month he would not seek reelection.
Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was tapped by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) after former Chief Justice Bridget McCormack announced her retirement on the court, is running to fill out the remainder of McCormack’s term.
Candidates are nominated by party conventions, though Michigan state Supreme Court races are technically nonpartisan. The state’s high court has a 4-3 Democratic majority.
Among those running for Viviano’s seat are Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Mark Boonstra and state Rep. Andrew Fink (R), who are running on the GOP side. Kimberly Ann Thomas, a clinical professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School, is running on the Democratic side, according to The Detroit Free Press.
Meanwhile, Circuit Judge Patrick William O’Grady is running on the Republican side against Bolden, according to the Coldwater Daily Reporter, though incumbents seldomly lose reelection.
North Carolina
Democrats — who held a majority on the state Supreme Court two years ago — are now looking to defend one of their two remaining justices on the high court, which now has a 5-2 conservative edge.
Democratic Justice Allison Riggs is looking to beat back a challenge against Republican appellate court Judge Jefferson Griffin, according to Bolts.
The North Carolina Supreme Court’s partisan flip during the November 2022 midterms had an immediate impact on the state’s maps. The newly minted conservative majority reconsidered a previous ruling by the then-liberal majority court that said the GOP Legislature’s congressional map was unconstitutional.
The court’s conservative majority ultimately ruled it didn’t have the authority to rule on gerrymandering, tossing out its previous decision and paving the way for Republicans to create their election map. Republicans’ new map favors Republicans in 10 districts, Democrats in three and one toss-up — a departure from the split between the parties of seven districts each.
North Carolina has proved elusive for Democrats in recent cycles as the state has trended redder. Democrat Cheri Beasley, a former chief justice on the state Supreme Court, narrowly lost the race to replace former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) to then-Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) in 2022.
The party’s presidential nominee has also failed to carry the state since 2008.
Kentucky
Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter is opting not to seek reelection, opening a seat up on the Kentucky Supreme Court.
State Supreme Court races in the Bluegrass State are technically nonpartisan. This year’s includes a head-to-head between attorney Erin Izzo and appellate Judge Pamela Goodwine, who has been endorsed by Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) political action committee.
The two are running for VanMeter’s seat on the high court, which is the 5th Supreme Court District. The seat could be a bellwether given that the district encompasses some swingy counties, as Bolts noted.
The district includes, among others, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Franklin, Madison, Scott and Woodford counties — all counties former President Trump won in 2020 and that went for Beshear in 2023.
Montana
Two seats on the Montana Supreme Court are opening up after Chief Justice Mike McGrath and Justice Dirk Sandefur opted against running for another term. State Supreme Court races in the Treasure State are technically nonpartisan.
Two recent decisions that the state Supreme Court generated headlines from last month include one allowing an abortion measure to proceed as it looks to make its way on the ballot before voters and another that blocked several restrictive voting laws from being enforced.
The Montana Free Press reported that a state Supreme Court race in 2022 broke the record for the amount of money poured into a state Supreme Court race, reporting close to $3 million spent.