31/10/2026
You know how much I adore mountain folks, right? Judge John Arrowood is a fellow Appalachian, born in Yancey County, and when I first met him, I could tell he was mountain tough. The more I learned about him, the more I realized my instincts were right. John has climbed mountains that many of us would never dream of having to overcome. He lost his parents as a teenager and finished high school while living with his brother. He put himself through college and law school - first in his family to ever get a college degree, let alone a law degree.
John is tough, but in all the good ways. When I joined the Court of Appeals and worked with him, he wowed me with his work ethic. He believes to his marrow that justice delayed is justice denied. He is on top of his caseload, and given the number of cases considered by the Court of Appeals every year, that's no small feat! I knew he knew his stuff, and I wanted to learn from him. If you're willing to work hard and be curious, John will be your partner in any effort to better this state. He doesn't suffer fools gladly, but he treats his colleagues and the people who appear before him with respect. Judge Arrowood is one of the most senior judges on the Court of Appeals, and that experience is especially valuable now.
We are lucky to have Judge John Arrowood on the N.C. Court of Appeals. I've spent the last few days talking about some of the judicial candidates on your statewide ballot. You'll notice that I didn't say just vote for all the Democrats. I believe the judge and the person matters more than the letter at the end of the name on your ballot. I wanted to share with you some of my personal knowledge of these great candidates as individuals.
I won my race by 734 votes. I know how important each and every vote is, and I know folks want to cast informed votes. I hope what I've shared about our Court of Appeals candidates has been helpful, and I'm grateful to everyone who stands up to be heard in this election.