MONTGOMERY — Several important statewide judicial primary races were held on Tuesday, and the results are now in across the board.
One of the most watched contests of the day was the battle between incumbent Justice Greg Shaw and State Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, Place 1. Shaw beat Ward by approximately 100,000 votes, with the percentage margin coming in at 58.38% to 41.62%. Observers view the Business Council of Alabama’s strong support of Shaw as key in his decisive victory.
Next, there was a race for Place 2 on the Court of Civil Appeals. That GOP primary saw State Rep. Matt Fridy (R-Montevallo) win handily over former local judge Phillip Bahakel by 66.03% to 33.97%.
In one of the most impressive electoral performances of the day, incumbent Presiding Judge Mary Windom blew out her opponent, Melvin Hasting, 69.46% to 30.54% in her reelection bid to Place 1 on the Court of Criminal Appeals.
For Place 2 on the Court of Criminal Appeals, incumbent Judge Beth Kellum is heading to a runoff against former Lauderdale County Commissioner William Smith. Kellum received 43.37% in the primary, followed by Smith (37.09%) and former local Judge Jill Ganus (19.54%). The runoff will be held March 31.
Additionally, incumbent Associate Justice Brad Mendheim was unopposed in his Place 2 primary bid to remain on the Supreme Court, as was incumbent Place 1 Court of Civil Appeals Judge Bill Thompson.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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