A longtime Arkansas Court of Appeals clerk was elected to the appellate court on Wednesday to replace the judge she has worked for since 2006.
Wendy Wood, a clerk for retiring judge Larry Vaught, defeated Saline County District Judge Stephanie Casady in a closely contested race.
The race was too close to call on Tuesday night with the vote leader changing several times as returns came in.
Casady in a Facebook post early Wednesday said that she was conceding the race to Wood.
Formerly Wendy Scholtens, Wood was a standout basketball player at Fort Smith Southside and Vanderbilt University before playing professionally overseas.
Wood, 52, has been a lawyer for 25 years. She was an attorney with the Barber Law Firm from 1996 until 2006, when she became a law clerk in the Court of Appeals.
Three other judges also ran unopposed for seats on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
Judge Ray Abramson was reelected to District 1, Position 1. He was first elected in 2014.
Judge Kenneth Hixson was reelected to District 3, Position 2, which he has held since 2015.
Judge Cindy Thyer was elected without opposition to the District 1, Position 2 seat. It will be Thyer’s first term on the state Court of Appeals. She currently serves as a circuit judge in the Second Judicial District, which covers Craighead, Clay, Crittenden, Greene, Mississippi and Poinsett counties.
The 12-member Court of Appeals comprises judges from seven districts in the state, and they serve eight-year terms.
Information for this report was contributed by Stephen Simpson of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.