North Carolina law requires candidates that intend to seek a party nomination in the 2026 elections to be affiliated with a recognized political party for at least 90 days before filing.
That means those who intend to file for the March 2026 primary must have their party affiliation registered with their county Board of Elections no later than Friday, September 19, 2025.
Candidate filing for the 2026 election is scheduled for December 1-19, 2025.
Recognized political parties in North Carolina are Democrat, Green, Libertarian and Republican.
Those who are registered as unaffiliated are not eligible to file in races that have a party primary, and must instead use the petition process to qualify to be listed on the general election ballot or as a write-in candidate.
More details about candidate filing can be found at https://www.ncsbe.gov/candidates/filing-candidacy
Information about unaffiliated candidate petitions can be found at https://www.ncsbe.gov/candidates/petitions/unaffiliated-candidate-petitions and write-in candidates at https://www.ncsbe.gov/candidates/petitions/write-candidate-petitions.