As many of you know, I've been busy campaigning since February for the Jefferson County Circuit Court Place 3 Judicial position. The current Judge was appointed by our Republican Governor.
We won our primary last night by a margin of 58-42, roughly a 4 thousand margin with approximately 25K votes cast. I am humbled by the support I received from this community in good wishes, advice and a few donations.
My wife and I decided at the last minute of qualifying in February that we should enter this race after a lot of thought, discussions, reflection and prayer. There have been a lot of obstacles and challenges over the past few months including my mom being diagnosed with breast cancer and having a double mastectomy, my office catching on fire and having to vacate and relocate and my 90 year old grandfather suffering from dementia.
We also suffered a number of personal attacks in this race and some of our friends and supporters also had to withstand some very nasty attacks on their character.
However we persevered and we know we made the right decision to run. Our campaign has been focused on a fair and equal justice system for everyone and education of the public about the justice system. I received all the major political endorsements including the African-American political organizations, labor support and the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats. I also had personal support from neighborhood leaders, community leaders and even some very conservative folks who understand what I can bring to the bench in terms of my civil rights law experience.
I am so excited about serving the people if I win in November. It's a very reachable goal as all of our countywide candidates running as Democrats won in the 2012 cycle. However, we cannot sleep as there is a new voter ID law in place which could mean a lower turnout and this is an off Presidential year election.
Please check out our website for updates (or if you want to make a donation :) and I'm happy to discuss and interact with members of the community about my race.