Fairhurst, Johnson, and Stephens easily cruise to reelection again token opposition

Washington State's three incumbent Supreme Court justices appear headed to victory in tonight's primary with Justices Fairhurst and Johnson easily winning more than a plurality of total votes cast so far.

Justice Debra Stephens, who was unopposed, was assured of victory weeks ago when her only opponent withdrew. In tonight's competition, Mary Fairhurst had no trouble defeating Michael Bond (she's currently at 61%), and Charles Johnson was almost equally successful against Frank Vulliet and James Beecher (he has 58%).

Because judicial elections are decided in the primary if a candidate receives a majority, Fairhurst and Johnson can rest easy knowing they'll be back on the Supreme Court for the next six years. Their races are over.

In King County Superior Court races, however, there's been more action, as there are several races in which one candidate will be eliminated.

• In the Position #37 race, Jean Rietschel and Barbara Mack appear likely to move on to November, leaving behind Nic Corning.
• In the Position #1 race, Tim Bradshaw and Suzanne Parisien appear likely to move on to November, leaving behind Susan Amini.
• In the Position #10 race, Regina S. Cahan and Les Ponomarchuk are set to move forward, leaving behind Jean Bouffard.
• In the Position #22 race, Holly Hill and Julia Garratt are set to move forward, leaving behind Rebeccah Graham.

And there's good news in the Court of Appeals race on the Olympic Peninsula, where Robin Hunt is easily beating right winger Tim Ford, 64% to 35%.