State of Justice: February 2026 Vacancies and Elections Updates
Vacancies
Gov. Polis fills a vacancy on the Colorado Supreme Court
Justice Melissa Hart retired from the Colorado Supreme Court on January 5, 2026. To fill Hart’s seat on the court, the Supreme Court Nominating Commission accepted applications through January 2026, interviewed applicants, and compiled a list of finalists from which Gov. Jared Polis (D) would choose his appointee. On February 17, 2026, Polis appointed 8th Judicial District Chief Judge Susan Blanco to the supreme court. Blanco is Polis’s second addition to the court, following his appointment of Justice Maria Berkenkotter to the court in 2020. Blanco has served as judge for the 8th Judicial District since her appointment in 2017. Prior to serving as a judge, Blanco worked as a private-practice criminal defense attorney and as a deputy district attorney. Blanco will need to stand for retention election in 2028.
Executive council confirms Gov. Ayotte’s choice to fill vacancy on the New Hampshire Supreme Court
In New Hampshire, supreme court justices must retire from the court before they reach their 70th birthday. Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi will turn 70 on February 12, 2026, and must retire from the court before that date. On January 27, 2026, Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) nominated Superior Court Justice Daniel Will to replace Hantz Marconi on the court. Will has served as a superior court justice since 2021, and previously served as the state’s first solicitor general under then-Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and worked as a business and commercial litigator. The governor’s executive council must confirm Will’s nomination, one member of which has already expressed opposition to the nomination due to Will’s work defending Sununu’s COVID-19 emergency order as solicitor general. On February 11, the governor’s executive council confirmed Will in a 4-1 vote. Will may serve until he chooses to retire or until he turns 70 in 2036.
Gov. Armstrong chooses next North Dakota Supreme Court justice
Last year, Justice Daniel Crothers announced his intent to retire from the North Dakota Supreme Court effective February 28, 2026. The state’s Judicial Nominating Committee accepted applications in early December. On January 22, the committee forwarded six potential candidates to Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R). On February 18, Armstrong selected Mark Friese to replace Crothers on the court. Friese is currently a private-practice defense attorney and serves as the state’s Criminal Justice Act panel representative, which works with federal defenders to provide defense for indigent individuals. He will be sworn into the court on March 9 and may serve until 2028, when he must run in a retention election to serve the remainder of the term, which expires in 2032.
Justice on Rhode Island Supreme Court announced retirement
Justice Maureen Mckenna Goldberg announced that she will step down from the court on March 27th. Goldberg has served on the court since her appointment in 1997. Her retirement gives Gov. Dan McKee (D) an opportunity to nominate a justice to serve on the court. Per the state constitution, McKee must notify the Judicial Nominating Commission of the Supreme Court. The commission will screen potential candidates, and then it will send the governor a shortlist of three to five candidates to choose from. The governor must make his selection within 90 days of receiving the list. The governor’s nominee must be confirmed by the state senate to serve a lifetime appointment.
Senate confirms Gov. Scott’s nominees to fill two vacancies on the Vermont Supreme Court
Vermont Supreme Court Justice Karen Carroll retired from the court on August 23, 2025, and Justice William Cohen retired on December 27, 2025. The state’s Judicial Nominating Board interviewed applicants for Carroll’s vacancy in June and repeated the process for Cohen’s vacancy in November. On January 5, 2026, Gov. Phil Scott (R) nominated Christina Nolan and Michael Drescher to fill the two seats. Nolan previously worked as an assistant district attorney and in private practice. Drescher began his career in private practice before becoming an assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Vermont. Drescher held multiple positions as an assistant U.S. attorney, including serving as First Assistant U.S. attorney, and later led the office as the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Vermont. In his confirmation hearing, committee Democrats scrutinized Drescher’s record as a prosecutor, specifically his role in prosecuting immigration cases during President Trump’s second administration. Both nominees were confirmed to six-year terms by the state senate on February 3 and sworn into the court later that week. The senate confirmed Nolan with a vote of 27 to 3 but deadlocked on Drescher’s nomination with 15 votes in favor of confirming him and 15 votes against. The state’s lieutenant governor and senate president, John Rodgers (R), broke the tie in the senate to secure Drescher’s confirmation. The two new justices may be retained for additional terms by the legislature until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 90, which will occur in 2055 for Drescher and 2069 for Nolan.
Washington Supreme Court justice to step down before election filing deadline
Washington Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen announced on February 2, 2026, that she will retire from the court on April 3. Madsen has served on the court since 1993 and was the first woman elected to the Washington Supreme Court. Midterm vacancies on the Washington Supreme Court are filled by gubernatorial appointment, with the governor choosing a replacement who may serve on the court until the next general election. Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) has indicated he will select Madsen’s replacement by April 3. The justice chosen to replace Madsen may serve on the court until the end of 2026, when they must run in a nonpartisan election to fill the remainder of the term that expires in 2029.
Elections
Two candidates announce challenge to Republican justices on Georgia Supreme Court
Former Democratic nominee for attorney general and former state Sen. Jen Jordan (D) and former president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Miracle Rankin will challenge Justices Sarah Warren and Charlie Bethel, respectively, in the upcoming supreme court election on May 19. While Georgia’s judicial elections are nonpartisan, the two challengers are closely affiliated with progressive interests, and the two incumbent justices are staunch Republicans and share ties to the conservative group, the Federalist Society. Incumbents on the Georgia Supreme Court have rarely lost re-election, with the last upset being in 1922. However, progressives gaining wins on other courts, such as the Wisconsin and Michigan supreme courts, could signal a coming shift in judicial elections.
Three Louisiana Supreme Court seats up under state’s new closed primary system
Three seats on the Louisiana Supreme Court will be on the ballot in 2026. Louisiana is one of four states that elects supreme court justices to represent geographic judicial districts. The terms of Justices Cade Cole and Jay McCallum are expiring in December 2026, and a special election will be held for the seat vacated by former Justice William Crain’s elevation to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in late 2025. Justice Cole holds the District 3 seat, Justice McCallum represents the District 4 seat, and Justice Crain occupied the District 1 seat. Under Louisiana’s closed primary system for certain statewide elected offices, which is in effect for the first time in the 2026 election cycle, the filing period opened on February 11 and closed on February 13. No candidates filed to challenge Cole or McCallum, both Republicans, and they will be unopposed for new terms on the court. Two candidates filed to run for the District 1 seat: William H. Burris, a former judge of the Louisiana 22nd Judicial District Court Division E, and Blair Downing Edwards, a judge of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal Third District. Both are Republicans and will face off in the Republican primary election on May 16, 2026. With no Democrats filing to run for the seat, the winner of the Republican primary will become the next justice to occupy the District 1 seat and will be sworn in to the court within 30 days of the primary election certification.
