The race to replace retiring District 2 judge Jay P. Gaskill ended in a virtual tie between the top two finishers and will move to a November runoff.
Retired judge and former Lewiston City Councilor John Bradbury received 6,655 votes, or 38.58%, compared to 6,653 votes, or 38.57%, for Nez Perce County Magistrate Judge Michelle Evans. Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman received 3,940 votes, or 22.84%.
In Idaho, if no candidate in a judicial election receives more than 50% of the vote in the May primary election, the top two finishers square off in the November general election.
“I’m just grateful for all those who supported me in this election, especially my family,” Evans said Tuesday night. “I’m looking forward to focusing on the November election from this point forward.”
Bradbury didn’t have any expectations about how his primary election night would turn out.
“I had no feel for it at all,” he said Tuesday. “I knew I would have a problem in Latah County because Michelle had been up there for 20 years.”
The winner will replace Gaskill, who is retiring in January.
