CONWAY -- Troy Braswell had nothing but praise for the man he beat by 83 votes in the race for Division 2 judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit.
"I'm incredibly humbled by the results of the vote ... and look forward to serving the people of the 20th Judicial District," Braswell said after his victory Tuesday. "Joe Don Winningham is a class act and in an age where contentious politics is the norm, Joe Don made it possible for us to focus on our experience and what we brought to the table for the voters to consider. This was no more evident than when he called to congratulate me on winning a close race."
With all precincts reporting in Faulkner, Van Buren and Searcy counties, unofficial returns showed:
Braswell 8,417
Winningham 8,334
At 34, Braswell, the circuit's chief deputy prosecutor, was the youngest of the eight candidates for four contested judicial races in the judicial circuit.
Winningham, who has a private law practice in Conway, is a former deputy prosecutor and has worked as a deputy public defender.
In the Division 1 judge's race, Conway City Attorney Mike Murphy, 53, beat Amy Brazil, 47, who was appointed to the Division 5 position last year.
With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed:
Murphy 8,588
Brazil 8,227
Murphy was first elected city attorney in 1990. He also has been a deputy prosecutor and had a private law practice.
In a statement Wednesday, Murphy thanked voters for their support and said he looks "forward to working hard for the people of the 20th Judicial District."
"We ran a traditional one-on-one grass-roots campaign and it paid off," Murphy said. "Even though we were the underdog in terms of money and institutional advantages, our volunteers worked hard in all three counties to get our message out.
"I congratulate Amy Brazil and her family for a hard-fought campaign," he added.
Brazil's campaign had raised $14,800 in contributions and $40,092.88 in loans, according to her March campaign-finance report filed April 15, and had spent a total of $17,742.37, leaving her campaign with a balance of $37,150.51. She had not filed a 10-day pre-election report as of Wednesday. More than $28,000 of the loans came from her parents.
According to Murphy's 10-day pre-election report filed with the state May 13, his campaign had raised $16,185 in contributions and $26,583.18 in loans and had spent a total of $34,038.74, leaving a balance of $8,729.44.
In the Division 5 judicial race, H.G. Foster, 61, who was appointed Division 1 judge last year, defeated Doralee Chandler, 41, a private attorney. In Division 4, incumbent David Clark, 46, beat former deputy prosecutor Angela Byrd, 47. Circuit Judge Charles E. Clawson Jr., 61, was unopposed in his Division 3 re-election bid.
With all precincts reporting, Division 5 unofficial returns showed:
Foster 9,661
Chandler 7,041
With all precincts reporting, Division 4 unofficial returns showed:
Clark 10,017
Byrd 6,671
In the Faulkner County sheriff's race, incumbent Andy Shock defeated challenger Joe Taylor, a Conway police officer, for the Republican nomination. There is no Democratic candidate.
With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed:
Shock 6,584
Taylor 2,446
In the Faulkner County clerk's race, Margaret Darter beat Marvin Lessman in their race for the Republican nomination. Her Democratic opponent in November will be Aaron Knight.
With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed:
Darter 4,484
Lessman 3,808
State Desk on 05/22/2014