ARKANSAS (AP) -- An Arkansas Supreme Court justice and an attorney backed by an out-of-state Republican group are advancing to a runoff in a race for a high court seat that was marked by outside attack ads.
Justice Courtney Goodson and Department of Human Services Chief Counsel David Sterling were the top two candidates in the heated three-person race in Tuesday's non-partisan judicial election. They advance to a runoff in the November general election. Appeals Court Judge Kenneth Hixson also ran for the high court seat.
The results set up a months-long extension of a bitter and expensive court fight.
The Judicial Crisis Network spent more than $935,000 on TV ads attacking Goodson and Hixson, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Another group, the Republican State Leadership Committee, spent more than spent more than $564,000 on TV ads and mailers supporting Sterling.