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North Carolina › Pender County › Surf City

Surf City, North Carolina sample ballot 2026

Surf City voters (Pender County, North Carolina) see U.S. Senate, Supreme Court Associate Justice, Seat 01, Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 01, Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 02 plus 4 Pender County races on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Your U.S. House district and any precinct-level races depend on your street address.

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These seats are elected by district; only the district covering your address is on your ballot.

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North Carolina District Court Judge, District 6, Seat 1Lindsey L. McKee (R)

Lindsey L. McKee

RepublicanIncumbent

Lindsey L. McKee is a sitting District Court judge for Judicial District 5 (New Hanover and Pender counties), first elected in 2014, per the North Carolina Judicial Branch's judicial directory. She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney in the New Hanover County District Attorney's Office after earning a J.D. at North Carolina Central University School of Law, per the same directory. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.

North Carolina District Court Judge, District 6, Seat 2Kurt B. Fryar (R) · James H. Faison III (D)

Kurt B. Fryar

Republican

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Apply the law as written and respect the time of citizens and attorneys
  • Address addiction-related cases while protecting public safety
About Kurt B. Fryar

Kurt B. Fryar is a Wilmington native with 24 years of legal practice in New Hanover and Pender counties, spanning civil, criminal, real estate and estate planning matters, per his campaign site. He is a UNCW and UNC Chapel Hill School of Law graduate.

James H. Faison III

DemocraticIncumbent

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Uphold the law with honesty and integrity
  • Ensure equal justice and respect for every person
About James H. Faison III

James H. Faison III has served as a District Court Judge for New Hanover and Pender counties for more than 25 years, per his campaign site, after working as a staff attorney with Legal Services of the Lower Cape Fear and as an Assistant District Attorney for the two counties. He has also served as a pastor since 1998.

North Carolina District Court Judge, District 6, Seat 3Melinda H. Crouch (D) · Janelle L. Cline (R)

Melinda H. Crouch

DemocraticIncumbent

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Apply the law equally and treat every individual with dignity and respect
  • Keep the courtroom a place where everyone can be heard, respected and treated fairly
About Melinda H. Crouch

Melinda H. Crouch has served as a District Court Judge for New Hanover and Pender counties since 2007, presiding primarily over Family Court, per her campaign site. Licensed since 1984, she practiced law in Wilmington for more than two decades before joining the bench.

Janelle L. Cline

Republican

Janelle Cline has worked as a prosecutor for the New Hanover and Pender County District Attorney's Office and later for the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, per her campaign site. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, holds a master's degree from the University of Maryland College Park and a juris doctor from the University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law, per the same source. She lives in Wilmington.

North Carolina District Court Judge, District 6, Seat 4Katherine Corpening (D) · Chad Hogston (R)

Katherine Corpening

Democratic

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Fairness and accountability, with judges listening carefully and treating all people with dignity
  • Bringing real-world community experience to the bench
About Katherine Corpening

Katherine Corpening is an Assistant Public Defender in New Hanover County with more than a decade of experience representing indigent clients, per her campaign site. She helped establish Community Empowerment Court, a treatment-focused alternative to incarceration, and is a Wilmington native and Wake Forest and Campbell Law graduate.

Chad Hogston

RepublicanIncumbent

Hogston has served 16 years on the district court bench and has 30 years of legal experience in New Hanover and Pender Counties, per the campaign site. Hogston grew up in Virginia, was the first in the family to attend college, and began legal practice in 1996, developing experience across a wide range of cases before becoming a judge. As a district court judge, Hogston hears criminal, family court, domestic violence, civil and mental health commitment matters.

Full candidate profiles, priorities and campaign sites are on the Pender County page.

Statewide races

U.S. SenateRoy Cooper (D) · Michael Whatley (R) · Shannon W. Bray (Libertarian) · Michael Dublin (Green)

Roy Cooper

Democrat

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Lower the cost of food and groceries
  • Make health care affordable
  • Lower energy and utility costs
About Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper is a former North Carolina governor and attorney general, per the campaign site. He was born and raised in Nash County, earned undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and practiced law in Rocky Mount, per the campaign site. The campaign site says he served four consecutive terms as attorney general and, as governor, reached a Medicaid expansion deal covering about 650,000 people.

Michael Whatley

Republican

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Enact the Trump agenda
  • Make North Carolina safe again
  • Fight illegal immigration
About Michael Whatley

Michael Whatley was raised in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wake Forest University and the University of Notre Dame, per the campaign site. He began his public service as a federal law clerk in Charlotte and later served as Sen. Elizabeth Dole's chief of staff, per the campaign site. He served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and, at President Trump's request, as chairman of the Republican National Committee, per the campaign site.

Shannon W. Bray

Shannon W. Bray

Libertarian

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Economy and taxes: lower costs, simpler taxes
  • Monetary policy and inflation
  • Jobs, innovation and technology
About Shannon W. Bray

Shannon W. Bray is a Navy veteran and cybersecurity professional, per the campaign site. He says he is running for the U.S. Senate because North Carolina deserves leadership that understands modern threats without sacrificing fundamental freedoms, per the campaign site.

Michael Dublin

Green

Top priorities

From the campaign site

  • Democracy: get big money out of politics
  • Environmental justice: a Green New Deal for North Carolina
  • Social and racial equity
About Michael Dublin

Michael Dublin is a native North Carolinian, a public school educator who recently retired from teaching, and a lifelong community activist, per the campaign site. The campaign site says he has led a prison ministry for more than two decades. He filed as the North Carolina Green Party's U.S. Senate candidate on June 15, 2026, per the state Green Party.

Supreme Court Associate Justice, Seat 01Anita Earls (D) · Sarah Stevens (R)

Anita Earls

Democrat

Top priorities

From other published sources

  • Upholding the state constitution, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Protecting access to healthcare, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Defending the right to a sound basic public education and voting rights, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
About Anita Earls

Earls is an attorney who currently serves as an Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, per the campaign site. Her campaign focuses on protecting constitutional rights for North Carolinians, per the campaign site.

Sarah Stevens

Republican

Sarah Stevens is an attorney with more than 30 years in private practice and president of the Surry County Bar Association, per her campaign site. She has served as Republican Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House, chairing the House Elections Law and Judiciary Committees, and holds a law degree from Campbell University School of Law, per her campaign site.

Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 01John S. Arrowood (D) · Michael C. Byrne (R)

John S. Arrowood

Democrat

John S. Arrowood is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Michael C. Byrne

Republican

Michael C. Byrne is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 02Tobias (Toby) Hampson (D) · George Cooper Bell (R)

Tobias (Toby) Hampson

Democrat

Top priorities

From other published sources

  • Keeping judges with Court of Appeals experience on the bench, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Defending the rule of law, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
About Tobias (Toby) Hampson

Tobias (Toby) Hampson is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

George Cooper Bell

Republican

George Cooper Bell is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Court of Appeals Judge, Seat 03Christine Marie Walczyk (D) · Craig Collins (R)

Christine Marie Walczyk

Democrat

Top priorities

From other published sources

  • Protecting individual liberties and equal access to justice, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
  • Maintaining an independent judiciary, per NCSBE Judicial Voter Guide
About Christine Marie Walczyk

Christine Marie Walczyk is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

Craig Collins

Republican

Craig Collins is on the State Board of Elections certified candidate list for this seat's November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 8, 2026.

North Carolina voters also decide 3 statewide ballot measures.

Your address is only used to match your districts.

Voting info and more

Voting info and more
Sample ballot by ZIP code in Surf City2 ZIP codes
Pender County sample ballotNorth Carolina statewide races

City boundaries and ZIP codes from the U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Gazetteer, 2020 ZCTA relationships). Candidate fields follow official election office filings; confirm with the North Carolina election office before voting.