BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — In the race for state Appeals Court Division 2, District 2, incumbent Joyce “Robin” Hunt held a commanding lead Tuesday night against challenger Tim Ford.
Hunt, who’s been on the state appellate bench for District 2 since 1997, appeared to be winning her third six-year term with 65,903, or 61.18 percent, votes statewide versus Ford’s 36,7776, or 35.82 percent, at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Because of the way the state law works, the state Appeals Court Division 2, District 2 race is decided in the primary election.
District 2 includes Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Mason and Thurston counties.
In Clallam County, Hunt led with 5,571 votes to Ford’s 3,749. Jefferson County also went decisively for the incumbent, with 5,716 votes for Hunt and 2,826 for Ford.
“It’s a bigger spread than I expected. I was hoping it would be close,” Ford said Tuesday night.
He added that his opponent had emphasized his lack of judicial experience. But Ford, 43, didn’t consider that a shortcoming, since several state Supreme Court justices didn’t have such experience before they ascended to the high court.
A former Navy helicopter pilot, Ford has worked in state Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office since 2005; before that he was attorney for the Builders Association of Washington. Last year Ford was appointed open-government ombudsman for the attorney general.
He said Tuesday night that he has yet to make any decisions about future runs for office.
