Primary election night last week in Mecklenburg County mostly focused on two storylines.
The first was embattled Sheriff Garry McFadden winning a third term, despite getting less than 34% of the vote. The second was the crushing losses suffered by two Democratic state House members who had voted with Republicans to override Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes.
But there was a third story — far under the radar — that was more surprising and interesting: Incumbent Mecklenburg District Court Judge Cecilia Oseguera lost to progressive challenger Habekah Cannon, who got 52% of the vote.
The Charlotte Observer noted that Cannon’s attorney website previously said she is “Abolitionist oriented and community minded. We’ll get you out of that cage.”
Those words have been removed from the website, but her personal biography still reads: “Habekah is an abolitionist that is committed to providing each and every client with a holistic, client-centered defense.”
Queen City Nerve has a detailed profile of Cannon’s activism and three arrests during the George Floyd protests in 2020. She then left the Public Defender’s Office and started what was billed as the city’s first “abolitionist law firm.”
So how did a self-proclaimed abolitionist take down a sitting judge — especially in our Trump 2.0 “post-woke” era, when DEI and defund the police movements have largely been rolled back?
Not a lot of scrutiny for a judicial race
First of all, it’s important to note that judicial races just don’t get much attention. Of the nearly 97,000 people who voted in the race, political experts believe only a sliver knew much about the candidates and their positions.
But in a race decided by 4,000 votes, a number of factors tipped the outcome. Probably the most important was that Cannon, who is Black, received the Black Political Caucus endorsement. That’s an endorsement that carries weight — Sheriff McFadden, Monifa Drayton (who knocked out incumbent County Commissioner Vilma Leake) and Rev. Rodney Sadler (who beat incumbent state Rep. Carla Cunningham) all won with the BPC’s backing. During early voting, nearly half of voters were either Black, non-white or undesignated.
And there was a lack of media coverage. Cannon outworked and raised more money than Oseguera. Oseguera also did not have a male opponent, as she did four years earlier.
And there has been a general leftward shift among Democrats nationwide, including in Mecklenburg County.
A new judge
Four years ago, Oseguera was appointed by former Gov. Roy Cooper to fill the vacant seat formerly held by Judge Reggie McKnight. She narrowly beat Kevin Smith in the 2022 Democratic primary, despite raising just $886. Mecklenburg County Democratic primary voters are roughly 60% female, and Oseguera probably benefited that year from running against a man.
That advantage would be gone against Cannon in 2026.
Cannon raised nearly $30,0000, according to the most recent campaign finance report, which only covers through mid-February.
In that same time period, Oseguera raised less than $5,000.
Oseguera was able to send out one mailer before the primary, touting her incumbency. But she didn’t have enough money to target conservative Democrats and unaffiliated voters with mail highlighting Cannon’s statements about jail abolition.
“To counter the Black Political Caucus endorsement, you have to have enough money to touch voters multiple times,” said Republican attorney and political consultant Larry Shaheen. “(Oseguera) just didn’t have that.”
Shaheen, who donated $500 to Oseguera’s campaign, said he was contacted by alarmed members of the judicial community after Cannon filed to run. They asked him to help Oseguera financially, he said.
Osegerua declined to comment for this story.
She did have volunteers handing out compare-and-contrast fliers at some early voting polling places, noting Cannon’s past statements about being an abolitionist. That prompted an angry response from Cannon, who wrote on Facebook on Feb. 26 that she would be filing a libel claim against Oseguera. She said her 2000 statements were not relevant to her 2026 campaign.
(A candidate’s past statements are always fair game in campaigns, however.)
Cannon answered written questions from Inside Politics through her campaign strategist, Gemini Boyd. Boyd — who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year — works in violence prevention after being incarcerated for more than two decades.
“In the past, I have shared my views about abolition as part of the broader conversation about improving our justice system,” Cannon wrote. “As a criminal defense attorney, my role has been to advocate for a fair system for my clients. As a judge, however, my role is different. My responsibility is to follow and respect the law, apply the facts to the law, and ensure that everyone who enters the courtroom is treated fairly and with respect.”
Progressive defense attorney Tim Emry ran unsuccessfully against District Attorney Spencer Merriweather in 2022. He supported Cannon.
He added that “jail abolition” are words that don’t necessarily mean empty the jails tomorrow.
“The public hears that term and they think we want to burn down these institutions without any sort of plan in place,” he said.
Emry said one of the biggest factors in Cannon’s victory wasn’t necessarily that voters backed her progressive views.
It came down to money — and Cannon outworking Oseguera at early voting sites.
“You can really swing voters out there,” he said. “If I am out there all day, I can get 30 people to vote for me, and that’s a change of 60 (because you are taking votes away from your opponent.) You put enough of those days together and it adds up.”
(Cannon won people who voted early; she lost Election Day voters.)
Emry added, “She also made the rounds at different Democratic party functions. They care who shows up.”
When asked about her strategy, Cannon wrote: “We simply outworked her … We knocked on doors, showed up in neighborhoods, and stayed engaged with the community throughout the campaign.”
She added: “It is also telling that many attorneys who regularly appear in her courtroom chose not to support her reelection.”
Which mattered more: Race or progressive politics?
Shaheen attributes Cannon’s victory not to the BPC endorsement, but more to the leftward shift inside the Democratic Party.
Nationwide, the percentage of Democrats who consider themselves liberals has increased.
Close to home, two moderate Democratic state House members — Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed – were blown out in the primary to more progressive opponents.
The Charlotte City Council shifted more to the left last November.
And Mecklenburg voters have been willing to elect candidates with progressive views on criminal justice reform (Sheriff McFadden) and a candidate who had been incarcerated (former City Council member Tiawana Brown in 2023. Brown lost in 2025 after being indicted for fraud a second time.)
But a look at which candidate won each precinct suggests race was the most important factor. Cannon won orange precincts, while Oseguera won those in white/grey:
This is the classic “crescent-wedge” map. The mostly minority communities around uptown supported Cannon, while the mostly white south Charlotte “wedge” voted Oseguera.
And as for the theory that progressivism was the main factor, look at Davidson, one of the most liberal parts of Mecklenburg. Oseguera won it easily, getting more than 70% of the vote.
Cannon’s talk about abolition didn't resonate there.
A new media landscape
Leading up to the election, The Charlotte Observer ran a story highlighting Cannon’s abolitionist statements. And The Observer endorsed Oseguera on Feb. 19.
WSOC talked to both candidates.
But WFAE did not cover the race, mostly because with a small staff and a crowded ballot, we can’t give every downballot race the coverage it deserves. Nor did many other outlets. And while the Charlotte Observer endorsement is important, the newspaper’s circulation is far smaller than it was 20 years ago.
The sheriff’s race and the Mecklenburg state House races took up much of the oxygen leading up to the election.
A judicial race with an intriguing storyline was mostly ignored.
Cannon hasn’t talked much since her campaign. Inside Politics asked whether she thought the media treated her unfairly by talking about her past statements.
“Absolutely,” said Cannon, who is 33. “The headline should read: Youngest Black African American Female Mecklenburg County District Court Judge.”
