Thomas Murry

Thomas Murry

Republican Party

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2033

Years in position

0

Prior offices

North Carolina House of Representatives District 41

Successor: Gale Adcock

Predecessor: Chris Heagarty

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Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Law

Campbell University School of Law, 2007

Ph.D

University of Arkansas, 2001

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army National Guard

Personal

Birthplace

Pine Bluff, Ark.

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Assistant state attorney

Contact

Official website

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

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Thomas Murry (Republican Party) is a judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He assumed office on January 1, 2025. His current term ends on January 1, 2033.

Murry (Republican Party) ran for election for judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Murry also ran for election for Attorney General of North Carolina. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on March 5, 2024.

Murry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Thomas Murry was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. As of 2024, he had served in the U.S. Army National Guard since 2014. Murry earned a Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas in 2001 and a law degree from the Campbell University School of Law in 2007. His professional experience includes working as an attorney, pharmacist, court mediator, and law school teacher. Murry also leads a nonprofit organization dedicated to patient safety.

As of 2024, Murry was affiliated with the following organizations:

• NC Bar Association, Chair, Criminal Justice Section
• Federalist Society
• NC National Guard Association
• American Legion
• Veterans of Foreign Wars

Elections

2024

See also: North Carolina intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

General election

General election for North Carolina Court of Appeals

Thomas Murry defeated incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson in the general election for North Carolina Court of Appeals on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Murry (R)	50.9	2,809,265
		Carolyn J. Thompson (D)	49.1	2,710,045

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 5,519,310
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Carolyn J. Thompson advanced from the Democratic primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Thomas Murry advanced from the Republican primary for North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Endorsements

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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Murry in this election.

2014

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the North Carolina House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 28, 2014. Incumbent Thomas Murry was unopposed in the Republican primary, while Gale Adcock was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Adcock defeated Murry in the general election.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gale Adcock	51.3%	15,160
	Republican	Thomas Murry Incumbent	48.7%	14,383
Total Votes				29,543

2012

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012

Murry ran for re-election in 2012. He ran unopposed in the May 8, 2012, Republican primary. He defeated Jim Messina (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Thomas Murry Incumbent	51.8%	21,639
	Democratic	Jim Messina	48.2%	20,150
Total Votes				41,789

2010

See also: North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2010

On November 2, 2010, Murry won election to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Murry defeated Tod Batchelor and David Sloane in the May 4 Republican primary. Murry's opponent in the November 2 general election is incumbent Chris Heagarty (D).

North Carolina House of Representatives, General Election Results, District 41 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Thomas Murry (R)		19,736	53.65%
Chris Heagarty (D)		17,052	46.35%

North Carolina House of Representatives May 4 Primary, District 41, 2010
Candidates		Votes
Thomas Murry (R)		2,070
Todd Batchelor (R)		1,941
David Sloane		152

Campaign themes

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 23, 2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Thomas Murry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Murry's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Tom Murry is a State prosecutor, attorney, pharmacist, and Army veteran, but most importantly Tom is a husband and father of 3. Tom served in elected office at the municipal and legislative levels for almost 10 years. While serving in the legislature, Tom joined the NC Army National Guard as a 37-year-old father of 3 and currently serves as a Major. He deployed to the Middle East in 2017-18. In the Judicial Branch, Tom has a wide array of legal experience, serving as Chief of Staff at the NC Judicial Branch working with the Chief Justice to improve our court system and as a State Prosecutor focused on felony drug crimes. He has helped Soldiers, their families, and military retirees with wills and estate planning, family law matters, and consumer protection cases.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• EXPERIENCE: As a pharmacist, town council member, State Prosecutor, law school teacher, and non-profit executive director, I have helped people for over 23 years. Whether as an Army Veteran, former legislator, or State prosecutor, I have earned a reputation as an effective advocate who achieves common sense results. I have a broad range of public and private sector experience. This real-world experience has prepared me to serve as a Judge on the Court of Appeals. The best clients I've helped are American soldiers and their families. I've assisted soldiers, their families, and retirees with various legal matters, including drafting wills and estate planning, handling landlord/tenant issues, family law, and consumer protection.
• DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION: As a member of the NC Army National Guard and a State Prosecutor, I took an oath to support and maintain the US and NC constitutions. As a Judge, I will continue to uphold the Constitution. The oath of office also involves my pledge to be faithful to and bear true allegiance to established constitutional powers to the best of my knowledge and ability. The Constitution is the sole authority that I will consider in my work as a judge on the NC Court of Appeals.
• JUDICIAL RESTRAINT AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY: The greatest obstacle to justice is when activist judges do not uphold the Constitution and legislate from the bench. The Judiciary is an independent branch of government. Other branches of government are responsible for policy-making and carrying out laws. As a former legislator, I understand separation of powers and believe in judicial restraint. I know how laws are made and as a State prosecutor, I understand how laws are executed in the courtroom. Public trust in the courts is undermined when activist judges do not uphold the Constitution and legislate from the bench.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The plain words of our Constitution should serve as the primary guide when interpreting laws.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was mopping floors during Christmas and summer breaks at my local school.

How would you describe your legal philosophy?

As an originalist or textualist, I believe the plain words of our Constitution should serve as the primary guide when interpreting laws.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

NC Police Benevolent Association
NC Fraternal Order of Police

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2014

Murry's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

Education

• Excerpt: "Tom understands the need to ensure that our students are learning in ways that provide them the skills they need to succeed in today’s global economy."

Jobs & The Economy

• Excerpt: "His top priority is growing our economy, and creating an environment so businesses can create more jobs."

Healthcare And The Impact Of The Affordable Care Act

• Excerpt: "Tom will work hard to learn the full impacts on our state and our citizens."

Taxes & Spending

• Excerpt: "Since Tom has served in the legislature, he has worked tirelessly to reduce the wasteful spending under previous legislatures, paying the way for a leaner and more efficient government."

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Thomas Murry campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2012	North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41	Won	$522,518	N/A**
2010	North Carolina House of Representatives, District 41	Won	$288,547	N/A**
Grand total			$811,065	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

State legislative tenure

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in North Carolina

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].

2014

In 2014, the General Assembly of North Carolina will be in session from May 14 through a date to be determined by the legislature.

• Civitas Action: 2014 Full Rankings

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

• Environment North Carolina: House and Senate

Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.

• North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2014 Legislative Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues.

• N.C. Values Coalition: 2014 Pro-family Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to family issues.

• North Carolina Voters for Animal Welfare: Senate and House

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal issues.

• The American Conservative Union: 2014 Legislative Scorecard

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].

In 2013, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 9 to July 26. Civitas Action: 2013 Full Rankings Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Environment North Carolina: 2013 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2013 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union: 2013 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].

In 2012, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from May 16 to July 3. Civitas Action: 2012 Full Rankings Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Environment North Carolina: 2012 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2012 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union: 2012 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2011

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show].

In 2011, the General Assembly of North Carolina was in session from January 26 to June 18. A special session dealing with redistricting began July 13 and ended July 28. Civitas Action: 2011 Full Rankings Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Environment North Carolina: 2011 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters: 2011 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union: 2011 Legislative Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Murry served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Murry served on the following committees:

See also

2024 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	North Carolina Court of Appeals 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Chris Heagarty (D)	North Carolina House of Representatives District 41 2011-2015	Succeeded by Gale Adcock (D)

North Carolina courts

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Federal courts:

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina

State courts:

Supreme Court of North Carolina • North Carolina Court of Appeals • North Carolina Superior Courts • North Carolina District Courts

State resources:

Courts in North Carolina • North Carolina judicial elections • Judicial selection in North Carolina