RALEIGH (AP) ó Sam Ervin IV and Kristin Ruth will compete in November for one seat on the state Court of Appeals after incumbent Judge John Tyson lost his seat in a primary election Tuesday.
Ervin, a member of the state Utilities Commission, had 37 percent of the vote and Ruth, a judge in Wake County District Court, had 26 percent with 99 percent of precincts reporting. The two leading vote-getters in the nonpartisan race advance to the general election.
Tyson had 22 percent to lose the seat he first claimed in 2000.
Incumbent Judge James Wynn and Gibsonville attorney Jewel Ann Farlow claimed spots in the general election with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Wynn, who first joined the court in 1990 and also served on the state Supreme Court 10 years ago, had 48 percent of the vote and Farlow had 37 percent. Dean Poirer of Mount Olive, an appeals referee with the state Employment Security Commission, had 15 percent.
The Court of Appeals has 15 judges who hear challenges to trial court proceedings in three-judge panels. Their opinions can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Terms on the Court of Appeals last eight years. Seven seats on North Carolinaís appellate courts are up for election this year, but only two required primaries.