Abortion rights create expensive campaigns for high-stakes state Supreme Court seats

Abortion and reproductive rights have been central in the races for president and governor in North Carolina, a battleground state that has more moderate restrictions on abortion than its neighbors to the south.

That was even more true in the battle for a state Supreme Court seat that abortion rights advocates say will play a big role in determining whether Republicans can enact even more restrictions. Registered Republicans currently hold five of seven seats and could expand that majority even further in Tuesday’s election.

Judge Allison Riggs, a Democrat running for re-election, is very focused on the issue and touts her support for reproductive rights. Her first television ad featured images of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, who favors restricting abortions earlier than the current 12 weeks. She says her GOP rival for the court could be a swing vote on the bench for such restrictions.

“This is an issue that’s going before state Supreme Courts, and it’s a very important one for voters right now,” Riggs said in an interview.

Her Republican opponent, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, said Riggs was saying too much about an issue that could come before the court.

“I think it’s inappropriate manner, a clear violation of our judicial standards, our code of conduct,” he said.

The North Carolina race underscores how much abortion is fueling expensive campaigns for state Supreme Courts this year. Groups on the right and left are spending heavily to reshape courts that could play decisive roles in legal battles over abortion, reproductive rights, voting rights, redistricting and other important issues for years to come.

Experts say the campaigns show how the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to strike down constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place for half a century has transformed state high court races.

“What Dobbs did was make it clear to political stakeholders and the public alike that these state courts that have gotten little attention are actually going to be really important and decide some of the biggest cases where people could. I expected it to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Douglas Keith, senior counsel in the judicial program at the Brennan Center, which has tracked spending in state judicial races.

Thirty-three states are holding elections for 82 Supreme Court seats this year. The 2024 election cycle follows record spending on judicial races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania last year.

Left-wing groups have greatly increased their spending on state courts this year. The American Civil Liberties Union has spent $5.4 million on judicial races in Montana, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. Planned Parenthood and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee announced earlier this year that they would collectively spend $5 million, focusing on congressional races in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

“We’ve never invested so much in state Supreme Courts before,” said Planned Parenthood Votes spokeswoman Katie Rodihan. “This is truly a revolutionary move for us and I expect this will be the norm for us going forward.”

Targets include Ohio, where Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the court. Democrats are defending two seats in the field, while a third is open, and Democratic wins in all three races are considered a shot in the Republican-leaning state.

Court review could be critical if the state appeals a judge’s ruling that struck down the broadest of state restrictions on abortion. The ruling said the law, which bans most abortions once heart activity is detected — as early as six weeks into pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant — violated a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year that protects reproductive rights.

Two seats are up for election on the Michigan court, where Democratic-backed justices hold a 4-3 majority. Judicial races are technically nonpartisan, but candidates are nominated at party conventions. Republicans would need to win both seats to turn the tide in their favor.

Judge Kyra Harris Bolden is defending the seat she was appointed to two years ago by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Bolden was the first black woman to sit on the Michigan bench. She faces Republican-backed Judge Patrick O’Grady for the remaining four years of her eight-year term.

State Republican Andrew Fink is running against University of Michigan law professor Kimberly Anne Thomas, who was the Democratic nominee, for the other open seat being vacated by a Republican-backed justice.

Groups supporting Bolden and Thomas see the races as central to defending abortion rights, with one group’s announcement warning that “Michigan Supreme Court May Still Take Abortion Rights Away.”

The hottest races are for two seats on the Montana Supreme Court, which has been criticized by GOP lawmakers for ruling against laws that would have restricted access to abortion or made it harder to vote.

Former U.S. Judge Jerry Lynch is running against County Attorney Cory Swanson for chief judge, while state Judge Katherine Bidegaray is running against state Judge Dan Wilson for another open seat on the court.

Progressive groups supported Lynch and Bidegaray. Both said in an ACLU questionnaire that they agreed with the reasoning and support of a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that the constitutional right to privacy includes the right to obtain a previable abortion.

Right-wing groups have painted both as too liberal and echoing the rhetoric of national Republicans, with text messages invoking the debate over transgender athletes on women’s sports teams.

The Republican State Leadership Committee, a longtime player in state judicial races, said its Judicial Fairness Initiative plans to spend seven figures in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

The group’s ads focus on issues other than abortion. In a presentation by three Republicans running for the Ohio court, the group shows images of President Donald Trump along with images related to immigration.

A super PAC backed by conservative donor and shipping executive Richard Uihlein has also given to groups involved in state Supreme Court races in Montana and Ohio.

Progressive groups are even focusing on swing states like Texas, where Republicans hold every seat on the Supreme Court. They are seeking to remove three GOP judges who were part of the unanimous rulings rejecting challenges to the state’s abortion ban.

One group, Find Out PAC, ran digital ads in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston criticizing Judges Jimmy Blacklock, John Devine and Jane Bland. In its announcement, the group accuses the three of “playing doctor on the bench.”

In North Carolina, Riggs’ campaign on abortion rights has drawn complaints from Republicans who say she is stepping outside the bounds of judicial ethics. But Riggs said he is not saying how he will govern either way and is just sharing his values ​​with voters.

“I will continue to speak about my values ​​because, at its core, our democracy works best when people vote in an informed manner,” she said.

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DeMillo reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writers Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio and Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana contributed to this report.