State Justices May Face Races In November

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Durham and Justice Charles Johnson were leading their primary election foes Tuesday, but both may be destined for general election runoffs in November.

For Position No. 1, Kathryn Ross, 44, of Mukilteo, and Mark Mestel, 45, of Everett, were trailing Durham, a 53-year-old court veteran from Seattle who has been chief justice since 1995. Durham had 48 percent of the vote in early returns.

For Position 3, Johnson, 45, of Gig Harbor, was leading Douglas J. Smith, 67, of Everett, and Barnett N. Kalikow, 41, of Olympia. Johnson was tallying 47 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, Justice Charles Z. Smith had a free ride into another six-year term.

Contested Supreme Court seats can be won in the primary if one of the candidates emerges with more than 50 percent of the vote.

If nobody gets more than 50 percent, the two top vote-getters will face off in the Nov. 5 general election.

Durham, who was rated “exceptionally well-qualified” by the King County Bar Association, is running to keep a seat she has held since 1985.

Johnson, who was rated “well-qualified” by the bar, won his seat in 1990 after defeating veteran Justice Keith Callow.

Johnson won despite being an unknown who mounted virtually no campaign. He had been a general-practice lawyer in Tacoma.

In all, 47 judicial positions, from Supreme Court through the state Court of Appeals and Superior Court benches, were contested in Tuesday’s primary.