The North Carolina State Board of Elections issued a warning to Republican state Representative Sarah Stevens after she accepted illegal donations from two lobbyists for her 2026 Supreme Court campaign. Stevens, currently running to unseat Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, accepted donations from two lobbyists last year: Harold Brubaker, who donated $6,800, and Andy Munn, who donated $1,500.
North Carolina law prohibits lobbyists from donating to sitting state lawmakers. Bob Hall, a campaign finance watchdog and former executive director of Democracy North Carolina, was the one who filed the initial complaint over the donations last August. Stevens then returned the donations.
An investigation by the North Carolina State Board of Elections found that the two donations were indeed illegal but not an “intentional violation”. Following the findings of the investigation, warnings were issued to Stevens, Brubaker, and Munn.
Stevens has not provided public comment about the warning issued, but Hall believes Stevens was attempting to “capitalize on what they thought was a loophole in state law”. When the donations were first flagged, Brubaker, a former North Carolina House speaker, insisted that the donation was “legal”. Stevens also dismissed claims of wrongdoing, arguing that the donations were given to her “as a judicial candidate”.
Stevens has practiced law for over 30 years and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2009– she’s currently serving on the House Election Law Committee. Her political and legal experience makes it all the more troubling that she could make such a mistake as she pursues a seat on the state’s highest court.
“It’s good the state board has educated and warned all the parties involved,” Hall said. “But it is troubling that a legislator who chairs the House Election Law Committee and who seeks a seat on the Supreme Court did not understand the plain language of these statutes.”
