In the push and pull over whether a Republican judge’s request to throw out more than 60,000 votes in his election contest should be considered in state or federal court, a panel of federal judges said Tuesday that the case will stay in state court for now.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that North Carolina's disputed race for a seat on the state Supreme Court must be reviewed in state courts before the matter can go before a federal tribunal.

Republican judge Jefferson Griffin has won a temporary reprieve in his effort to undo the 2024 election results that showed him losing to Democratic Justice Allison Riggs in a race for the state Supreme Court.

Three counts found an incumbent Democrat won a State Supreme Court race. But the Republican candidate is trying to nullify more than 60,000 votes.

An appeals court has agreed a federal trial judge acted properly last month in declining to rule on the eligibility of voters in an unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court election

The Federal Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the fight over North Carolina’s Supreme Court race will remain in state court.