By Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Abortion and reproductive rights were racing center for president and governor of North Carolina, a battleground state that has more moderate abortion restrictions than elsewhere in the South.

That was even more true in the battle for a state Supreme Court seat that abortion rights advocates say will play a big role in determining whether Republicans can enact even more restrictions. Registered Republicans currently hold five out of seven places and could extend that majority even further in Tuesday’s election.

Judge Allison Riggs, a Democrat running for re-election, is very focused on the issue and touts her support for reproductive rights. Her first television commercial featured images of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinsonthe Republican candidate for governor, who favors restricting abortions earlier than the current 12 weeks. She says her GOP rival for the court could be a swing vote on the bench for such restrictions.

“This is an issue that’s going before state Supreme Courts, and it’s a very important one for voters right now,” Riggs said in an interview.

Her Republican opponent, Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, said Riggs was saying too much about an issue that could come before the court.

“I think it’s inappropriate manner, a clear violation of our judicial standards, our code of conduct,” he said.

The North Carolina race underscores just how much abortion is fueling expensive campaigns for Supreme Courts in several states this year. Groups on the right and left are spending heavily to reshape courts that could play decisive roles in legal battles over abortion, reproductive rights, voting rights, redistricting and other important issues for years to come.

Experts say the campaigns show what the US Supreme Court is like Decision 2022 overturning constitutional protections against abortion that had been in place for half a century transformed races for state high courts.

“What Dobbs did was make it clear to political stakeholders and the public alike that these state courts, which have gotten little attention, are actually going to be really important and decide some of the biggest cases in which people could I expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Douglas Keith, senior counsel in the judicial program at the Brennan Center, which has tracked spending on state judicial races.

Thirty-three states are holding elections for 82 Supreme Court seats this year. The 2024 election cycle follows record spending on judicial races Wisconsin and Pennsylvania last year.

Left-wing groups have greatly increased their spending on state courts this year. The American Civil Liberties Union has spent $5.4 million on judicial races in Montana, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. Planned Parenthood and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee announced earlier this year that they would collectively spend $5 million, focusing on congressional races in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

“We’ve never invested so much in state Supreme Courts before,” said Planned Parenthood Votes spokeswoman Katie Rodihan. “This is truly a revolutionary move for us and I expect this will be the norm for us going forward.”

Targets include Ohio, where Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the court. Democrats are defending two seats in the field, while a third is open, and Democratic wins in all three races are considered a shot in the Republican-leaning state.

Court review could be critical if the state appeals a judge’s ruling that struck down the broadest of state restrictions on abortion. The ruling says the law that bans most abortions once cardiac activity is detected – as early as six weeks in pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant — violated a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year that protects reproductive rights.