Last Updated on November 29, 2025 2:51 pm
BOONE — Local attorney Eric Eller announced Tuesday he is running for District Court judge in the 35th Judicial District, which covers Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga and Yancey counties.
Eller, a trial attorney with more than 30 years of courtroom experience, said he is seeking the seat in the 2026 election.
“I am running for District Court Judge because the Courts should treat all people with dignity, and apply the law with fairness and consistency,” Eller said in a statement. “These are the same principles that led me to become a trial attorney and guided my decision making while on the Watauga County Board of Elections through the most contentious and challenging elections in history.”
Eller served on the Watauga County Board of Elections from 2017 to 2025, a tenure that included overseeing elections during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
A Watauga High School graduate, Eller earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and his law degree from Wake Forest University. He is also a U.S. Army veteran who served as an M-1 Abrams tank mechanic with the 1/64 Armored Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division in West Germany.
Eller said he plans to file his candidacy later in the filing period due to a scheduled jury trial during the first week of filing.
He resides in Boone with his wife Connie.
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