North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. announced Thursday he will not seek reelection to his associate justice seat in 2028, opening the door to a possible run for chief justice that same year.
Berger, a Republican elected to an eight-year term in 2020, said he will serve out his term but is alluding to consideration of other ways to remain in public service.
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“After talking with my family, I have decided that I will not seek reelection to my seat as Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of North Carolina,” Berger said in a statement posted to social media.
He didn’t say whether he plans to run for chief justice or another office. Berger ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014 before becoming a judge in 2016.
Unlike in other states or federal courts, where chief judge titles are often chosen from among judges already serving, the role of Supreme Court chief justice in North Carolina is specifically elected by the voters.
“As for what comes next, I am giving serious thought to other ways I might serve the people of this state,” Berger said. “I am not prepared to say more than that at this time, except that my commitment to North Carolina and the law does not end with this term.”
The announcement sets up an increasingly consequential 2028 election for the state’s highest court.
Republican Chief Justice Paul Newby’s term also expires in 2028. Newby, 73, would reach North Carolina’s mandatory judicial retirement age of 76 during another eight-year term. The Republican-led General Assembly raised the mandatory retirement age from 72 to 76 in 2023, allowing Newby to remain on the court through his current term.
Three of the court’s seven seats, including Newby’s and Berger’s, are scheduled for election in 2028. Republicans currently hold a 5-2 majority, and all three seats up for election in 2028 are held by Republicans — meaning if Democrats flip those seats, they could take back control ahead of the 2030 Census and the redistricting legal battles that will likely follow. Both parties have spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years fighting over control of the Supreme Court, largely due to its ability to approve or block political maps for state and federal races.
Berger’s decision could also have implications for this year’s closely watched Supreme Court race. Under North Carolina’s Code of Judicial Conduct, sitting judges generally cannot endorse candidates for public office unless they are themselves candidates. Berger hasn’t announced a campaign for another judicial seat, meaning he cannot endorse former House member, Republican Sarah Stevens in her race against Democratic incumbent Justice Anita Earls unless he otherwise becomes a candidate under the code.
Berger joined the court in 2021, when Democrats held a 4-3 majority. He was part of a GOP wave of judges who won every statewide judicial race in 2020 and 2022, helping their party take control of the court in 2023.
His tenure has also included debate over whether he should hear cases involving the General Assembly when his father, longtime Senate leader Phil Berger Sr., was a named defendant in his official capacity.
Democrats and other critics argued the relationship created a conflict of interest and called for Berger Jr. to recuse himself. Berger Jr. declined to do so, arguing that his father appeared in the cases because of his official position and that voters knew about their relationship when they elected him.
In 2022, the then-Democratic-majority Supreme Court ruled that individual justices had the final say over whether to recuse themselves. Berger continued declining to recuse himself and defended that choice.
“More than 2.7 million North Carolinians, knowing or at least having information available to them concerning my father's service in the legislature, elected me to consider and resolve significant constitutional questions like the one at issue here,” Berger Jr. wrote at the time.
Berger Sr., who has served as Senate president pro tempore since 2011, lost his Republican primary in March and will leave the legislature at the end of the year.
Following Berger Jr.’s announcement, spokespeople for Berger Sr. didn't immediately respond to WRAL’s request for comment.
Berger Jr. also faced a campaign finance complaint in 2022 alleging he and other Republican officials improperly used campaign funds to support a political action committee backing Republican judicial candidates.
Berger gave no timeline Thursday for announcing his next move.
“To the people of North Carolina, thank you for your trust and confidence,” he said. “It is a privilege to serve you, and I hope to continue doing so.”