LITTLE ROCK – Circuit Judge Dan Kemp won the race to lead the Arkansas Supreme Court Tuesday, in a campaign that had been marked by a record amount of outside spending targeting his rival.
Kemp defeated Justice Courtney Goodson in the nonpartisan judicial election. He replaces interim Chief Justice Howard Brill in leading the seven-member court. A circuit judge and former lawmaker who once advocated banning gays and lesbians from adopting or fostering children defeated a Little Rock attorney in the race for another open seat on the court.
Kemp has been a circuit judge representing north Arkansas’ 16th Judicial District since 1987. Kemp vowed in an ad that he would be guided by “prayer, not politics.” He proposed banning justices from accepting gifts and stricter rules on when they should recuse themselves from cases.
“It seems like our culture and our values and our morals are being undermined not only behind the scenes but in broad daylight,” Kemp said in an interview last month. “I just felt like I couldn’t sit back and let that happen anymore.”
Goodson had been targeted by two conservative groups in her bid. The Judicial Crisis Network spent more than $600,000 on television ads running throughout the state that criticized Goodson over gifts and contributions she had accepted from trial lawyers.
That group and the Republican State Leadership Committee also sent mailers throughout the state criticizing Goodson. Goodson condemned the ads and accused Kemp of coordinating with the group running ads. Kemp said he had no prior knowledge of the ads.
Kemp’s election means the two rivals will be working together on the court for the two years remaining in Goodson’s term.
It also comes after an unusually public split among justices over the court’s months-long delay in considering the case to legalize gay marriage in the state. The late Chief Justice Jim Hannah and Justice Paul Danielson last year accused the court’s majority of unnecessarily delaying work on the lawsuit by creating a spinoff case over which justices could participate in the appeal. The makeup of the court changed after it heard arguments but before releasing a decision.
The court ultimately dismissed the gay marriage lawsuit hours after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Goodson was among the majority that supported creating the spinoff case.
Circuit Judge Shawn Womack defeated Little Rock attorney Clark Mason in the race for another open seat on the high court. Womack is a former Republican state lawmaker who once advocated banning gays and lesbians from fostering or adopting children. Mason has touted his background as someone who hasn’t run for office before, saying it shows he doesn’t have an agenda.
That race has also drawn outside involvement, with the Republican State Leadership Committee buying $250,000 in television airtime to run ads criticizing Mason.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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