Democrats have a big funding advantage in state Supreme Court race

State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, has notched a huge funding advantage over her Republican challenger.

Why it matters: The race for Earls' seat on the state Supreme Court, which swung from a Democratic majority to a Republican one in 2022, will be one of the most-watched statewide races in this year's mid-term elections.

Veteran Republican legislator Sarah Stevens, who until recently represented Surry and Wilkes counties in the N.C. House, is challenging Earls, a Durham-based civil rights attorney who was elected in 2018.

Driving the news: In the second quarter of this year, Earls raised $1.9 million from donors, according to campaign disclosure filings.

Stevens, for her part, raised around $90,000.

State of play: Heading into the this fall's election, Earls' campaign now has $3.5 million in hand.

That is nearly 14 times more than Stevens' campaign, which has around $258,000 in cash on hand, according to filings.

Between the lines: The race could determine what's at stake in 2028, when three Republican justices are up for re-election, and whether that election could swing the court's balance of power.

What they're saying: "We expect incumbents to outraise challengers. And, in 2026, we expect Democrats to outraise Republicans," Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, told Axios. "But a quality challenger getting outraised [at this rate]? That's next level stuff."

The Stevens campaign has not yet responded to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the Earls campaign said in a statement that the donations show that donors know what is at stake. "This record-breaking fundraising is evidence that folks across the state know Justice Earls will continue to uphold the Constitution and protect the freedoms of all North Carolinians," Mary Alice Blackstock, Earls' campaign manager, said in a statement.