Whitener and Montoya-Lewis easily retain their Washington Supreme Court seats; Staab wins appeals court race

The state’s Supreme Court will keep the same members.

Justices G. Helen Whitener and Raquel Montoya-Lewis easily won elections Tuesday for their appointed seats.

Montoya-Lewis, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Isleta Tribe in New Mexico, was defending the seat she was appointed to by Gov. Jay Inslee in December.

She beat Dave Larson by about 20 percentage points in Tuesday’s count.

Whitener had an even bigger lead – about 35 percentage points – over Richard S. Serns. Whitener, who was appointed by Inslee to her seat in April.

An immigrant from Trinidad, Whitener is the first Black woman to sit on the state’s highest court

Meanwhile, Spokane Municipal Court Judge Tracy Staab will win a seat on the Court of Appeals, Division 3.

She led attorney Marshall Casey by about 30 percentage points in Tuesday’s count. In her campaign, she touted her experience arguing cases before appellate judges and her ratings from independent bar associations.