At least one 'Bob' Hunter is running for Supreme Court

N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Bob Hunter is announcing his plans today to run for the N.C. Supreme Court next year. Hunter, a former member of the N.C. House of Representatives, has been a member of the Court of Appeals for 11 years and ran unsuccessfully for the Supreme Court in 2002 against incumbent Associate Justice Bob Orr, who has since retired from the court. Hunter, a native of Marion who represented the 49th House district for 18 years, is filing for the seat now held by incumbent Associate Justice Ed Brady.

Hunt launched his bid with an announcement Tuesday morning in Buncombe County and had other stops on his itinerary in Newton, Winston-Salem and Greensboro. He made note in his announcement that, if elected, he would be the only judge on the seven-member Supreme Court from the area west of Charlotte and Greensboro.

There may be some confusion in this race because there are two Bob Hunters on the N.C. Court of Appeals. The Bob Hunter running for Supreme Court is Robert C. "Bob" Hunter, who is a Democrat from McDowell County. The other is Robert N. "Bob" Hunter, a Republican from Greensboro in Guilford County who was elected to the Court of Appeals in the 2008 election.

Of course, N.C. appellate judicial elections are non-partisan and ballots do not indicate which political party a candidate is allied with. But the parties themselves usually try to make sure voters know of their political inclinations.