| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Van Winkle | 124,312 | 52.95% |
| Tim Fennessy | 110,457 | 47.05% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
Residence: Colbert
Education: Graduated from Shadle Park High School in 2006. Graduated from Spokane Falls Community College with an associate degree in 2006. Earned a bachelor’s in political science and international studies from the University of Washington in 2008. Earned a law degree from the University of Washington in 2012.
Work Experience: Worked as intern and legislative assistant at the Washington Legislature from 2007 to 2009. Clerked for Kevin Korsmo at the Court of Appeals from 2012 to 2014. Worked as a deputy prosecutor in Chelan County from 2014 to 2019, Court of Appeals District III staff attorney from 2019 to present (currently is the senior staff attorney). Serves as a Spokane County Superior Court judge pro-tempore from 2021 to present
Political Experience: First run for office
Family: Married to Lauren Van Winkle.
Campaign contributions: Has raised more than $50,000, as of Oct. 1, 2024, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Contributions include $23,400 of his own money along with donations from attorneys Rachel Hama, Marcus Sweetser, Bill Hochberg, Appellate Court Judge George Fearing, retired appellate judge Kevin Korsmo, retired Washington State Sen. Chris Marr.
Residence: Spokane
Education: Graduated Libby Senior High School 1975 in Libby, Montana. Earned bachelor’s in political science from Gonzaga in 1979. Earned law degree from Gonzaga Law School in 1983.
Work experience: Worked in civil law at a number of Spokane firms since 1983, practicing on issues of medical malpractice, construction law, personal injury claims, water rights, eminent domain and insurance defense. Worked at Layman Law Firm PLLP from 2010 to 2016, was named partner in 2014. Has been Spokane County Superior Court Judge since 2016, and is currently presiding judge.
Political experience: Elected to Spokane County Superior Court in 2016 and 2020.
Family: Married to Nelou Fennessy. Has two adult children.
Campaign finance: Has raised more than $56,000, as of Oct. 1, 2024, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Contributions include about $2,000 of his own money and donations from Armitage & Thompson, Judges Tony Hazel, Breean Beggs and Raymond Clary and multiple members of the Haghighi family, former owners of Fery Catering and his in-laws.
A judge who previously unseated an incumbent eight years ago was unseated himself by a Washington Court of Appeals attorney in the 2024 election.
Local and state candidates and measures saw little separation from opponents after the latest ballot count Thursday.
A number of races and ballot measures, ranging from Washington’s highest court to public schools in Cheney, remained too close to call Wednesday.
Voters split their choices over two Spokane County Superior Court judge incumbents Tuesday night.
Judge Tim Fennessy says his experience is needed in Spokane County Superior Court while his challenger Andrew Van Winkle argues he would bring change to modernize the court and have a better demeanor on the bench.
Incumbent Judge Timothy Fennessy will face court of appeals staffer Andrew Van Winkle in the November general election.
Spokane County Bar Association has released its candidate rankings ahead of the Aug. 6 primary.
None of the seven women serving as Spokane County Superior Court judges is backing their colleague Timothy Fennessy’s re-election campaign.
Every four years, the entirety of the Spokane County Superior Court bench is up for election.
