Jefferson Griffin concedes in Supreme Court election
May 07, 2025 | 10:46 am ET
Description
Democratic incumbent Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs and her Republican challenger, Judge Jefferson Griffin. (Courtesy photos)
The nation’s last unsettled race from the 2024 General Election has been decided. Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin has conceded to incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs.
The Associated Press reported that Griffin, a judge on the state Court of Appeals, provided a statement Wednesday morning indicating that he has decided not to appeal the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Myers II that Riggs must be certified as the winner. “While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”
Riggs defeated Griffin by the razor-thin margin of 734 votes out or more than 5 million cast — a figure that was confirmed in two recounts, but Griffin challenged the result in a series of administrative and judicial proceedings.
On Monday, Myers issued a 68-page ruling directing the state Board of Elections to certify Riggs as the winner and rejecting Griffin’s effort to have thousands of ballots thrown out as violative of the U.S. Constitution, writing:
“[T]his case concerns whether the federal Constitution permits a state to alter the rules of an election after the fact and apply those changes retroactively to only a select group of voters, and in so doing treat those voters differently than other similarly situated individuals. This case is also about whether a state may redefine its class of eligible voters but offer no process to those who may have been misclassified as ineligible.
“To this court, the answer to each of those questions is ‘no.”
Riggs issued the following statement in response to the concession:
“After millions of dollars spent, more than 68,000 voters at risk of losing their votes, thousands of volunteers mobilized, hundreds of legal documents filed, and immeasurable damage done to our democracy, I’m glad the will of the voters was finally heard, six months and two days after Election Day. It’s been my honor to lead this fight – even though it should never have happened – and I’m in awe of the North Carolinians whose courage reminds us all that we can use our voices to hold accountable any politician who seeks to take power out of the hands of the people.”
The State Board of Elections was meeting Wednesday morning. Final certification of the election result will take place automatically at the end of the seven-day stay that Myers, a Trump appointee, attached to his ruling in order to provide Griffin with an opportunity to appeal.
Lynn Bonner contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Raleigh, NC