Created page with "{{ElectionBrief2014 |Title=Primary season in high gear--what you may have missed and upcoming races to watch |Month=May |Date=29 |Intro= Six states hold primaries next Tuesda..."
New page
{{ElectionBrief2014
|Title=Primary season in high gear--what you may have missed and upcoming races to watch
|Month=May
|Date=29
|Intro=
Six states hold primaries next Tuesday, June 3; call it "Super Tuesday Lite". A host of hot match-ups during the first week of June will help trim the field ahead of the November general elections. Meanwhile, a few lucky candidates might be able to breathe a sigh of relief if they live in states that decide judicial races based on a majority win in the primary.
* We've got Georgia on our mind after the May 20 general election, as more than a few judge contests will be decided in the runoff election on July 22.
* We're crunching numbers and highlighting key races after the Texas primary runoff.
* Though the candidates aren't getting invites to the Letterman show this year. It's still anyone's guess how a 5-way judge race in one California county will end.
* A few Idaho candidates racked up enough votes in the primary to propel them to a win. No general election required.
* Candidates for one South Dakota judicial seem pretty happy about their race, themselves and their opponents.
* An opinion poll in Ohio shows the public has mixed feelings about using party labels in judicial elections.
|State list override=
|Important dates=
'''Primary elections:'''
* 6/3: [[Alabama judicial elections, 2014|Alabama]], [[California judicial elections, 2014|California]], [[Minnesota judicial elections, 2014|Minnesota]], [[Montana judicial elections, 2014|Montana]], [[New Mexico judicial elections, 2014|New Mexico]], [[South Dakota judicial elections, 2014|South Dakota]]
* 6/10: [[Maine judicial elections, 2014|Maine]],[[Nevada judicial elections, 2014|Nevada]], [[North Dakota judicial elections, 2014|North Dakota]], [[South Carolina judicial elections, 2014|South Carolina]]
'''Primary runoff election:'''
* 6/10: [[Arkansas judicial elections, 2014|Arkansas]]
'''Filing deadlines:'''
* 6/1: [[Kansas judicial elections, 2014|Kansas]]<br>
* 5/30: [[Minnesota judicial elections, 2014|Minnesota]]<br>
* 6/10: [[Connecticut judicial elections, 2014|Connecticut]]<br>
* 6/13: [[Vermont judicial elections, 2014|Vermont]]<br>
|Headline1=Georgia's notable results
|State1=Georgia
|Story1=Many judicial elections are decided by the filing deadline, especially when a candidate runs unopposed, as Georgia incumbents often do. We've put together a selection of brief notable races that involved a bit more of a battle during the campaign, and some races that remain undecided as they head to a runoff.
The retirement of judge [[Frank D. Horkan]] left an open seat right before the election and offered a ripe opportunity for three candidates to compete for the judgeship. Georgia's [[Southern Judicial Circuit, Georgia|Southern Judicial Circuit]] is comprised of five counties. Candidate [[Brian McDaniel]] was able to win majorities in four of them to win the election outright, without needing a runoff.<ref name=results>[http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/GA/51345/131201/en/summary.html ''Georgia Secretary of State'', "2014 Statewide election results," accessed May 26, 2014]</ref> In Georgia, a candidate must carry at least a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to win an election. McDaniel received 50.21 percent of the circuit, barely escaping a runoff with second place [[Vernita L. Bender]]. 16,890 votes were cast in the election, 8,480 of which were for McDaniel, meaning McDaniel won by only 70 votes.<ref name=results/><ref>[http://www.moultrieobserver.com/local/x1396857123/McDaniel-leads-in-judges-race ''The Moultrie Observer'', "McDaniel wins judge's race," May 21, 2014]</ref>
Meng Lim to face off against Charles Morris in [[Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, Georgia|Tallapoosa]] runoff race: [[Meng H. Lim|Meng Lim]] led a four-candidate pack Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to escape a runoff. He pulled in just shy of 36% of the vote, far short of the simple majority needed to make the race decisive. Lim will face [[Charles E. Morris, Jr.|Charles Morris]] in a runoff during the November general election. Morris claimed just over 28% of the vote, earning him second place and a spot in the runoff. Two other contenders, who were eliminated, [[Vicky Robinson Atkins]] and [[Andrew B. Roper]], won a combined 36.4% of the vote, leaving a decisive number of votes up for grabs in the runoff that could go either way.<ref name=results/>
Atlanta's hot judge contest within inches of a decision: Cynthia D. Wright's retirement from the [[Fulton Judicial Circuit, Georgia|Atlanta Fulton Judicial Circuit]] left an open seat and three candidates vying to fill it. The clear frontrunner, [[Jane Barwick]], was only one-third of a percent away from winning outright. Of the over 70,000 votes cast, she fell 418 short. She will face [[Shelitha Robertson]] in a runoff. Robertson pulled in a bit over 31.5% of the vote.
|Headline2=Texas runoff results roundup
|State2=Texas
|Story2=Voting has come to a close in the [[Texas primary runoff, 2014|Texas 2014 primary runoff elections]] that took place on Tuesday, May 27. Though we haven't crunched the final numbers yet, unofficial results are available on county and district websites statewide.<ref>[http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/05/26/5848587/texas-primary-runoffs-to-be-settled.html ''Star-Telegram'', "Texas primary runoffs to be settled Tuesday," May 26, 2014]</ref>
The runoffs at a glance, according to data collected by Judgepedia:
* Of the 20 district judges competing in runoffs, only '''3 were incumbents''' (one of which was [[Denise Pratt]], who actually resigned from the bench but did not do so quickly enough to be removed from the runoff ballot).<ref name=resign>[http://www.chron.com/news/politics/houston/article/Embattled-judge-Pratt-resigns-suspends-campaign-5358490.php ''Houston Chronicle'', "Embattled judge Pratt resigns, suspends campaign," March 28, 2014]</ref> Only one of these incumbents, [[Juan Partida]] of the [[Texas District 275|275th District]], will advance to the general election.<ref>[http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/TX/Hidalgo/51760/131236/Web01/en/summary.html ''Hidalgo County'', "Unofficial results," accessed May 27, 2014]</ref>
* The ratio of men to women was roughly equal in the [[Texas District Courts|district court]] runoffs; '''9 men''' and '''11 women''' competed. Five races featured a man versus a woman, three featured a woman competing against a woman and two featured a man versus a man.<ref>See: [[Texas primary runoff, 2014]]</ref>
* Of the [[Texas District Courts|district court]] races, the closest was between [[John Bustamante]] and [[Laura Flores Macom]], who were competing for a seat on the [[Texas District 45|45th District Court]]. Bustamante defeated Macom by 1.3% of the vote.<ref>[http://www.bexar.org/el45a.htm ''Bexar County'', "Primary Runoff Election Results," May 27, 2014]</ref> The widest margin was between [[Denise Pratt]] of the [[Texas District 311|311th District Court]] (who as mentioned previously, withdrew from the race) and [[Alicia Franklin]]. Franklin earned 77.4% of the vote.<ref>[http://abc13.com/politics/elections/local/texas/harris/ ''ABC Eyewitness News'', "Texas Elections," May 28, 2014]</ref>
* [[El Paso County, Texas|El Paso County]] appears to have had the highest amount of judicial runoffs this season, with '''6 races''' determined on Tuesday. Close behind El Paso was [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar County]], (5 races) [[Cameron County, Texas|Cameron County]] (4 races) and [[Dallas County, Texas|Dallas County]] (4 races).
Keep an eye out for more comprehensive results to be posted soon!
|Headline3=Crowded Nevada County race
|State3=California
|Story3=A contest for a seat on the [[Superior Court of Nevada County, California|Nevada County Superior Court]] is a crowded one, with five candidates competing for the seat. It's one of the state's most populated judicial contests this year, tied with a race for the [[Superior Court of Fresno County, California|Fresno County Superior Court]].<ref name=crowded>[http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/11536188-113/county-nevada-ferguson-lake ''Tahoe Daily Tribune'', "Election 2014: Nevada County Judicial candidates face crowded field, May 23, 2014]</ref>
Openings on the court are rare, with most candidates hesitant to run against a sitting judge. For those reasons, the retirement of [[Sean P. Dowling]], offers a rare opportunity for those who are interested to run for the seat.<ref name=crowded/> As election day draws closer, voters will be trying to decide who they believe is the most qualified to serve on the court.<ref name=crowded/>
[[Angela L. Bradrick]] currently works as a research attorney for the court, a position she’s held since 2010. Before that she was a research attorney for the [[Superior Court of Placer County, California|Placer County Superior Court]]. Bradick has also served as a judge pro tem, sitting in family court, family support, civil, probate, small claims and traffic courts. She earned her [[J.D.]] from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1999.<ref name=nevada>[http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/11330138-113/county-law-nevada-court ''Tahoe Daily Tribune'', "Election 2014: 5 vie for Nevada Co. Superior Court Judge Seat 1," May 23, 2014]</ref>
For seven years, [[Anna Ferguson]] has served an assistant district attorney in the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office. She’s also worked as a civil attorney at an insurance defense firm, a deputy public defender, a deputy district attorney in Kings County and a special assistant inspector general for the Inspector General’s Office of the State of California. During her 20-year career, which has taken her to several different parts of the state, Ferguson has tried over 100 jury trials. She earned her [[J.D.]] from Pepperdine University, School of Law.<ref name=nevada/>
[[Jeff Ingram]] filed to run for the seat just a few minutes before the filing deadline. He also decided not to seek contributions to fund his election campaign.<ref named=crowded/> Ingram has a private law practice in Penn Valley and specializes in employment law and civil litigation. He has been a lawyer in Nevada County for 26 years.<ref name=nevada/>
Ingram ran for Nevada County supervisor in 1998 against incumbent Rene Antonson. After the primary, Ingram and a write-in candidate competed in the general election, with the write-in candidate winning by less than 200 votes. Ingram served for 4 years on the Nevada County Airport Commission. He also served for four years on the board of directors for the Penn Valley Fire Protection District.<ref name=nevada/>
[[Jeffrey A. Lake]] Lake represented a group who tried to prevent the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance from being passed. A campaign mailer carried the tagline: "Cultivate your rights. Vote Lake for Superior Court judge."<ref named=crowded/> He has his own law firm which he started in 2001. His main law practice is based in San Diego, although he lives in Nevada City. During the 23 years he has practiced law, Lake has represented clients in a variety of civil cases involving: product liability and other tort actions, construction defect cases, real property and business transactions transactions as well as contract disputes. He serves as a director and member of several non-profit organizations which are located in the San Diego area. Lake earned his [[J.D.]] from California Western School of Law in 1991.<ref name=nevada/>
[[Robert Tice-Raskin]] has been a federal prosecutor since 1995, at the trial and appellate court levels. He currently serves as the chief of the white collar crime unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, California. Since 2007, he has served as a judge pro tem in superior courts in [[Nevada County, California|Nevada County]], [[Placer County, California|Placer County]] and [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento County]]. As a judge pro tem, he has heard small claims cases, contract and tort matters. Between 1990 and 1994, he was an attorney the law firm of ''Irell & Manella'' and worked as a law clerk for former federal judge J. Lawrence Irving. Tice-Raskin has a manager for his campaign and has obtained the most endorsements of any candidate. He earned his [[J.D.]] from Harvard in 1989.<ref name=nevada/>
|Headline4=Idaho primary results are in now
|State4=Idaho
|Story4=Results from Idaho's May 20 judicial primary are in. There were eight contested judicial races this year in the state, and six of these were decided in the primary. In Idaho, if a supreme court, court of appeals or district court candidate receives over 50% of the vote, that candidate automatically wins the election. If no primary candidate receives over half of the votes, then the two candidates who received the most votes progress to the general election. The general election in this case functions similarly to a runoff election.<ref name=jp> See: [[Idaho judicial elections]]</ref>
Incumbent [[Joel Horton]] defeated challenger [[William "Breck" Seiniger]] for re-election to the [[Idaho Supreme Court]]. Horton garnered 65.8% of the votes, to Steiniger's 34.2%.<ref name=2014results>[http://www.sos.idaho.gov/elect/results/ENR/statewide_total.html ''Idaho Secretary of State'', "Unofficial Primary Election Results - Statewide," May 21, 2014]</ref> In the [[Idaho Fourth Judicial District|Fourth Judicial District]], incumbent [[Richard Greenwood]] narrowly defeated challenger [[Les Bock]] in a race by 55.8% to 44.2%. In the [[Idaho Second Judicial District|Second Judicial District]], incumbent [[Jeff Brudie]] won a similarly close victory over [[John H. Bradbury]], 56.6% to 43.4%.<ref name=2014results/>
Races in the [[Idaho Seventh Judicial District|Seventh Judicial District]] ended with some decisive victories. Incumbent [[Darren B. Simpson]] earned 73.7% of the votes to keep his seat over challenger [[Andre Linchenko Lawson]], who earned 26.3%. [[Joel E. Tingey]] kept his seat by defeating challenger [[Randy Neal]], 64.0% to 36.0%. The trend toward incumbent victories continued in the [[Idaho Sixth Judicial District|Sixth Judicial District]], with incumbent [[Robert C. Naftz]] taking home 54.9% of the votes to defeat challenger [[Lynn Brower]]. Brower received 45.1% of the votes.<ref name=2014results/>
Idaho's November 4 general election will include just two contested judicial races. In the [[Idaho Seventh Judicial District|Seventh Judicial District]], [[Steven H. Thompson]] will face [[Bruce L. Pickett]] to compete for the Shindurling seat. In the primary, Thompson received 28.6% of the votes, Pickett received 49.0% and [[Scott J. Davis]] received 22.4%. Davis was eliminated and won't advance to the general election. The other contested race will take place in the [[Idaho Fourth Judicial District|Fourth Judicial District]]. The primary was a four-way face off between [[Jeanne M. Howe]], [[Jonathan Medema]], [[Samuel A. Hoagland]] and [[Rebecca W. Arnold]]. Howe and Medema failed to advance to the general election, receiving 15.1% and 18.8% of the votes, respectively. Hoagland and Arnold will compete on November 4 for the Wetherell seat. Both candidates earned a similar number of votes in the primary; Hoagland received 31.8% of the primary vote and Arnold received 34.3%.<ref name=2014results/>
|Headline5=Friendly competition in South Dakota circuit race
|State5=South Dakota
|Story5=While their campaign signs may lead people to believe there is bad blood between them, the three candidates for the [[South Dakota Second Judicial Circuit|Second Judicial Circuit]] are about as friendly as opponents can be. The candidates, [[Democratic]] {{BP|South Dakota House of Representatives|state representative}} [[Marc S. Feinstein]], [[Minnehaha County, South Dakota|Minnehaha County]] Commissioner [[John Pekas]] and magistrate judge [[John Hinrichs]] are not going on any attacks. Pekas in particular complimented his opponents, expressing optimism about whatever outcome the election brings: {{quote|Guess what? Lincoln County, Minnehaha County, everybody is going to be a winner because I can't say enough for these particular people running in this campaign.|author=John Pekas|source=<Ref name=kdlt>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140529035517/http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36086&Itemid=57 ''KDLT News'', "3 running for circuit court judge," May 23, 2014]</ref>}}
In addition to praising their opponents, the candidates also had some good things to say about themselves. Said Pekas,
{{quote|I have, in fact, spent the night in jail when we were doing the shake down of the new jail and if you're going to be the individual that is going to be passing judgment on other individuals and sending them for incarceration, I think that give me a unique perspective.|author=John Pekas|source=<ref name=kdlt/>}}
Hinrichs, the only candidate with judicial experience, emphasized that fact when discussing his record: {{quote|I'm ready to step in and pick up the next day and I really just love the opportunity to continue to serve Minnehaha and Lincoln County in that regards.|author=John Hinrichs|source=<ref name=kdlt/>}}
Feinstein, who is finishing his fourth term, added: {{quote|I've been a strong advocate to promote the legal system in South Dakota. I'm committed to making the South Dakota legal system work.|author=Marc Feinstein|source=<ref name=kdlt/><ref>[http://ballotpedia.org/Marc_Feinstein ''Ballotpedia'', "Marc Feinstein," accessed May 28, 2014]</ref>}}
Located in Minnehaha and [[Lincoln County, South Dakota|Lincoln]] counties, the Second Circuit is the state's largest. The [[South Dakota judicial elections, 2014|primary election]] will take place on June 3. The top two vote-getters in the primary will compete on November 4 in the general election. Only races with more than two candidates require a primary, so the spotlight will shine on this race.<ref name=kdlt/>
|Headline6=Party labels to remain a fixture for Ohio judicial elections
|State6=Ohio
|Story6=In her latest move to reform [[Ohio judicial elections]] under her "Ohio Courts 2013" plan, [[Ohio Supreme Court]] Chief Justice [[Maureen O'Connor]] issued an appeal for online feedback to learn how the public felt about the role of party affiliation in judicial elections.<ref>See: [[Maureen O'Connor]]</ref><ref name=cbus>[http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/05/18/public-mixed-on-dropping-judges-party-labels.html ''The Columbus Dispatch'', "Public mixed on dropping judges’ party labels," May 18, 2014]</ref>
The results and commentary were mixed, but were widely split down the middle, with some commenters believing that party affiliation had no place in judicial election races, while others believed that providing such party labels helps the public make more informed voting decisions. O’Connor has made her opinion clear; party affiliation has no place in judicial elections. However, since a year’s worth of feedback did not clarify the public’s opinion on the issue, one way or the other, she has removed the proposal from her judicial elections reform plan.<ref name=cbus/>
O'Connor will instead focus on 3 core proposals: increasing the qualifications required to be a judge in Ohio, moving the state's judicial elections to odd-numbered years and having judicial races listed at the top of voting ballots and increasing voter awareness and education about judicial candidates through programs and elections information. These proposals are also open for public commentary.<ref>[http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/05/strengthen_ohio_judicial_elect.html ''Cleveland.com'', "Strengthen Ohio judicial elections: Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor," May 13, 2013]</ref><ref name=cleve>[http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/05/ohio_chief_justice_maureen_oco.html ''Cleveland.com'', "Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor says party labels have no place in judicial elections," May 9, 2014]</ref>
Ohio is currently the only state holding partisan primary elections for judges using party affiliation labels, which are then left off the general election ballots. Nationwide, 22 states elect their judges, with 14 of those states utilizing nonpartisan elections, and 7 electing their judges using a partisan method.<ref name=cbus/>
As for chief justice O’Connor’s efforts to reform judicial selection methods in Ohio, she believes that "now is the time to come together as a state and to arrive at a package of improvements that we can enact into law."<ref name=cleve/> O’Connor has also been forthright in her belief that Ohio judges should remain elected officials and not be selected via a merit based process, stating: "Voters have reaffirmed by large margins that they want judges to be accountable in competitive elections."<ref name=cleve/>
|Headline7=
|State7=
|Story7=
|Headline8=
|State8=
|Story8=
}}