Wake County Clerk of Superior Court Election: What Voters Need to Know

On the November 3 ballot, Wake County voters will find two names for clerk of superior court. It's an easy race to pass over. It's worth stopping on, because the 2026 Wake County Clerk of Superior Court election is the first time since 2018 that voters here actually get to choose who holds the job. The 2022 race had one candidate. The person in the office now was appointed to it. On November 3, the decision goes back to the public.

What the clerk of superior court actually does

The title sounds clerical. The job isn't. Under North Carolina law, the clerk is the county's judge of probate, with original jurisdiction over wills and the estates of people who have died. The clerk also hears guardianship cases for adults and minors, and handles special proceedings such as adoptions and name changes.

That is the judicial side. The other side is running the records for every superior and district court case in the county, and supervising the assistant and deputy clerks who do that work. State law makes the clerk responsible for what those staff do. In Wake, that is a large operation. The current clerk's campaign site puts the staff at 185 assistant and deputy clerks.

If your family settles an estate in Wake, or you ask the court to appoint a guardian for a parent, this is the office that handles it.

How Wake went eight years without a contested vote

In 2018, Blair Williams won the office, defeating incumbent Jennifer Knox with 59.1% of the vote to 40.9%. That was the last time Wake voters had two names to pick between.

In 2022, Williams ran again with no opponent. The primary was cancelled, and he was re-elected with 100% of the vote.

Williams then won a seat as a District Court judge and took that bench on January 1, 2025, leaving the clerk's office before his term ran out. The North Carolina Constitution covers this case. 

Article IV, Section 9 says that when the office falls vacant, the senior resident superior court judge for the county "shall appoint to fill the vacancy until an election can be regularly held." Wake's senior resident superior court judge, Paul Ridgeway, appointed Claudia Croom to the post.

None of this is irregular. The appointment is the constitution doing what it says. It does mean that no Wake voter has yet had a say in who runs the office today. Croom is seeking her first full term, and this election is the "regularly held" one the constitution refers to.

How the Wake County Clerk of Superior Court election works this year

Two things shape how this race reaches you.

Both party primaries for clerk were cancelled this year, so November 3 is the only vote on this office in 2026. There was no earlier round to narrow the field.

North Carolina also ended straight-ticket voting starting in 2014. A single mark at the top of the ballot no longer fills in every race below it. If you want a say in who becomes clerk, you have to mark this race yourself.

Does the clerk need to be a lawyer?

No. Article IV, Section 22 of the state constitution requires a law license for Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, and superior and district court judges. Clerks of superior court aren't on that list. Section 9 provides that the clerk is elected by the county's voters for a four-year term.

That matters here because the two candidates come from different backgrounds. Croom is an attorney who has worked as a civil magistrate and in private practice. Joe Teague Jr. is a Professional Engineer and a Certified Professional Manager, and he is running on the case that the office is first an administrative system: records, staff, process and the time it takes to move a file. 

His background in engineering and management is the core of that case, and so is the line he uses to explain it: "If something can be measured, it can be understood. If it can be understood, it can be improved."

The legal side of the job is real, and voters should weigh it. In guardianship cases, for example, the clerk decides all issues of fact and law. A voter who wants a lawyer leading that work will find it in Croom's background. A voter who thinks the bigger problem is how a large office runs day to day has reason to look at Teague. 

Either way, it's a choice between two different ideas of what the office needs. In 2022, there wasn't one to make.

Read More: 5 Reasons to Consider Joe Teague Jr. for Wake County Clerk of Superior Court

Before you vote

The campaign site has more about Joe Teague Jr. and why he's running. Then plan when you'll vote.

The regular registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, October 9, for anyone voting by mail or on Election Day. If you miss it, you can still register in person at any early voting site in the county, with proof of residence and an acceptable photo ID. Same-day registration isn't available on Election Day itself.

In-person early voting runs from Thursday, October 15, until 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 31. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Find the clerk of superior court race on your ballot, and mark it.