North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced the appointment of State Court of Appeals Judge Allison Riggs to the North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Allison Riggs to the North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday. Riggs—whom Cooper appointed to the Court of Appeals earlier this year—will complete the term of Democratic Justice Mike Morgan, who resigned last week. She previously led voting rights efforts for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, an organization founded by the court’s other Democrat, Justice Anita Earls.

Cooper’s move all but ensures that Riggs will be the party’s nominee for the seat next year. But even if Riggs wins, Democrats will be in the minority until at least 2029. And if Riggs loses, Earls—whom the Republican-led Judicial Standards Commission is currently investigating over her criticism of the court’s diversity policies—will find herself an even lonelier dissenter.  […]

Jeffrey Billman is a politics and law reporter for The Assembly. The former editor-in-chief of INDY in Durham, he holds a master's degree in public policy analysis from the University of Central Florida.

Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.