Ben Scales Wins Tight Primary, Will Run Unopposed for Buncombe Judge

Ben Scales, a 62-year-old Asheville attorney, won the Democratic primary for Buncombe County District Court judge, District 40, Seat 3, with 20,621 votes (51.4%) to James Mills’ 19,521 votes (48.6%), a 1,100-vote margin, according to unofficial N.C. State Board of Elections figures reported by the Citizen-Times with all precincts reporting. With no Republicans having filed for the seat, Scales will run unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election.

The primary results remain unofficial pending the county canvass scheduled for March 13, 2026; WLOS noted that “All election results are unofficial until a canvass is held. A canvass determines that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly, thereby authenticating the results.” North Carolina’s primaries took place March 3, 2026, and the canvass will be held by the Buncombe County Board of Elections at its office and is open to the public.

The seat Scales won is currently held by Judge Patricia Young, who announced in November that she plans to retire after 24 years in Buncombe County; her term ends on Dec. 31. District Court judges in Buncombe preside over civil cases such as divorce, child custody, child support and other civil cases involving less than $25,000. District Court judges also preside over criminal misdemeanor cases, infractions, juvenile cases, involuntary commitment proceedings, first appearances and probable cause hearings in felony cases and many other types of cases.

Biographical details provided by the Citizen-Times show Scales was born in Birmingham, Alabama, earned his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, clerked for two federal judges, and moved to Asheville with his family in 2002. He operates his own private law office and has been “involved in multiple civil and non-profit organizations.” Scales has run for public office three times previously, including a 2004 run for district attorney in which he collected over 7,000 petitions to get on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate, a 2018 bid for district attorney, and a 2020 run for the state Senate’s 49th District.

The Citizen-Times summed up the immediate outcome: “Asheville attorney Ben Scales will serve as Buncombe County's newest District Court judge, according to unofficial election results.” Final certification by the county board will confirm the tally and the November ballot line.

Local election returns show contested races elsewhere in Buncombe County. The N.C. State Board of Elections table for District Attorney District 40 (precincts reported 80 of 80) lists Todd Williams with 10,859 votes (34.71%), Courtney Booth with 10,758 votes (34.39%), Doug Edwards with 9,273 votes (29.64%) and Joe Bowman with 395 votes (1.26%). Boltsmag described the Buncombe DA primary as the state’s closest DA contest and said Williams was “clinging to a lead of just 200 votes” against Booth while characterizing Booth’s platform as staunchly decarceral and describing a third candidate as a former prosecutor critical of Williams. WLOS separately ran a projection that “Martin Moore is the projected winner for Buncombe County district attorney” and listed Moore’s roles as attorney, mediator and current Buncombe County Commissioner and noted an endorsement from current District Attorney Todd Williams on Feb. 12, 2026; these differing snapshots underline the need for official certification.

If the March 13 canvass affirms the unofficial totals, Scales will be positioned to take the bench following Judge Young’s Dec. 31 departure and to begin handling the full slate of District Court matters in Buncombe County.