Republican appeals court Judge Jefferson Griffin leads incumbent Democrat Allison Riggs by a razor-thin margin in the race to fill an associate justice seat on the state Supreme Court.

The Associated Press has not called the race, but based on all-precinct reporting this morning, Griffin had 50.09% of the vote to Riggs’ 49.91%, a vote difference of 9,851 out of nearly 5.5 million votes cast, according to the report State Board of Elections.

If Griffin’s lead holds, he will receive an eight-year term on the Supreme Court, giving Republicans a commanding 6-1 majority on the state’s highest court. What’s more, it’s all but certain that the GOP will maintain dominance on the Court for years to come. Democrats had targeted this race in hopes that it would lead to regaining a majority on the court ahead of the legislative and congressional redistricting process in 2030 — a process that is almost invariably subject to judicial review.

Griffin is an Army veteran who began his legal career in private practice before joining the Wake County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. He also served as a circuit court judge in Wake County.

Griffin, whose campaign website identifies him as a supporter of the conservative legal concepts of originalism and textualism, accused Riggs during the campaign of pushing a liberal agenda through the courts and violating judicial conduct rules.

During the campaign, Riggs did not shy away from explicitly expressing her support for abortion rights or saying how she would vote if the issue went to trial. She also released a campaign ad saying she would protect abortion rights, prompting critics from her opponent’s camp to accuse her of violating the state’s code of conduct. Griffin was criticized by his opponent for claiming that there is no racial bias in the criminal justice system.

Election night results are unofficial and vote totals are likely to change in the coming days as local election boards consider provisional, military and foreign civilian votes. The state elections board is scheduled to meet Nov. 26 to certify the results.