RALEIGH — North Carolina House Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) has announced she will challenge Associate Justice Anita Earls for her North Carolina Supreme Court seat in 2026.
“I will be a conservative voice for justice and families on the Supreme Court,” Stevens wrote in her announcement posted on X. “My experience as a family law attorney and a state legislator has prepared me to be a voice for those who cannot advocate for themselves.”
Stevens, an attorney from Mount Airy, is the first to announce a Republican candidacy in the race. She has practiced law since 1986 and obtained her law degree from the Campbell University School of Law. She has served as the president of the Surry County Bar Association and is a former chair of the North Carolina Courts Commission.
First elected to the General Assembly in 2008, she assumed office in 2009 and is in her ninth term in the House. Her current term ends in January 2027.
Stevens ran unopposed in 2022, and she has scored decisive wins with over 70% of the vote in most of her elections.
Stevens has been a member of several House committees, including Appropriations, Judiciary, Regulatory Reform and Redistricting. She was the second-highest ranking House Republican (2017-24), serving as speaker pro tempore of the House until Rep. Mitchell Setzer (R-Catawba) replaced her for the 2024 long session.
During her tenure, Stevens has chaired the House Elections Law, Judiciary and Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight committees.
“Rep. Stevens has served with distinction and has been a champion of conservative values,” an NCGOP official wrote in a statement to North State Journal. “This race is crucial to defeat far-left activist Anita Earls in 2026. The people of North Carolina overwhelmingly support conservative judges and justices in our courts.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton issued a statement critical of Stevens’ candidacy.
“It’s rich that a career politician who has been complicit with taking away voters’ rights, gerrymandering election districts, and starving public education thinks she has the right experience to serve on the state’s highest court,” said Clayton. “The people of North Carolina deserve a Justice who has dedicated their life to securing equal justice under the law for everyone, and that’s Anita Earls.”
