DISTRICT ATTORNEY, DISTRICT 35

NOTE: You may vote for one. Candidates are presented below in the order they appear on your ballot. All of my research sources and links for candidates are presented after and below the candidate profile.

ENDORSEMENT: Suspended

I am temporarily suspending my endorsement of Seth Banks for District Attorney pending further review. My original endorsement was based on conversations with attorneys and others familiar with his work who spoke favorably about his performance. Since then, I have received additional information raising serious questions about how some sexual-assault cases have been handled by the District Attorney’s Office. I have begun reviewing public records and other materials, but I have not yet been able to independently verify all the claims or reach a fair conclusion.

I believe these concerns are very troublesome and deserve careful examination and are not to be taken lightly. I also believe it would be irresponsible to make accusations that the evidence does not yet establish. For those reasons, I am suspending my endorsement before making a judgment I am not yet prepared to support. This is not a finding of wrongdoing or innocence. It is a decision to withhold my endorsement until I have sufficient information to make an informed judgment.

The District Attorney is the chief prosecutor for the district. The office prosecutes criminal cases on behalf of the State, handles some juvenile matters, prepares criminal trial dockets and advises law-enforcement agencies. District 35 covers Watauga, Avery, Madison, Mitchell and Yancey counties. Banks is running unopposed for this seat. My sources tell me he is an effective and fair District Attorney. 

SETH BANKS (Republican) (Unopposed)

 https://www.ncdistrictattorney.org/district-attorney/prosecutorial-district-35/d

Banks grew up in Yancey County and graduated from N.C. State University and Wake Forest University School of Law. He began working as an Assistant District Attorney in 2007, handling cases ranging from serious assaults and murder to drug trafficking and crimes against children. After a period in private practice, he was appointed District Attorney in June 2014 and elected to a full term that November. He is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a Specialist in State Criminal Law.

Banks has also held statewide and national prosecutorial leadership positions. He chaired the Governor’s Crime Commission Crime Victim Services Committee, served on the Chief Justice’s task force on ACEs-Informed Courts and on the National District Attorneys Association board. In July 2024 he became president of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys; he currently serves on its Executive Committee as past president.

One less obvious piece of his record is worth noting. Banks co-chaired a statewide prosecutors’ Working Group on Race, Equity and Justice, which examined prosecution and court practices that could contribute to disparate outcomes, including effects on minorities and disadvantaged people dealing with substance-use disorders or mental-health conditions.

In February 2026, Banks appeared before the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety representing the Conference of District Attorneys in a presentation on district-attorney autonomy and related issues.

Banks has no opponent on the November ballot.

SOURCES / LINKS