Baker elected to third term on Supreme Court; runoff looms in Position 2 race

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Karen Baker Karen Baker and Justice Robin Wynne
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Karen Baker Karen Baker and Justice Robin Wynne

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Karen Baker was elected to a third term Tuesday night, while a runoff looms for Justice Robin Wynne.

Baker fought off the challenge of Circuit Judge Gunner DeLay in the nonpartisan judicial race for Position 6.

With an estimated 89.7% of votes counted, unofficial returns were:

Baker 252,843

DeLay 141,663

Baker, 58, has served on the high court since defeating Circuit Judge Tim Fox and Evelyn Moorehead in a special election in 2010. Baker completed the term of Justice Annabelle Imber, who retired in 2009, and won reelection in 2014.

"I appreciate the people of Arkansas for putting their faith in me, for the third time, to sit on the state's highest court," Baker said Tuesday night. "The people of Arkansas have spoken with their votes today, clarifying that experience, impartiality and dedicated service, rather than partisanship, are the qualities most important in our judiciary.

"To the people of Arkansas: Thank you. I look forward to serving you for another eight years."

DeLay, 57, has served as a state lawmaker, a prosecutor and district judge. He served as a Republican in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1995-1999 and in the state Senate from 1999-2003.

In 2007, former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee appointed DeLay to fill a two-year term as Sebastian County's prosecuting attorney.

DeLay described himself as a constitutional conservative and criticized Baker leading up to the primary, saying Baker did not take part in candidate forums and had been unavailable to the media.

Wynne has served as Position 2 associate justice since 2015 and led District Judge Chris Carnahan and attorney David Sterling late Tuesday night.

With an estimated 88.3% of votes counted, unofficial returns were:

Wynne 192,398

Carnahan 111,852

Sterling 84,360

Wynne, 69, served previously as a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals and prior to that was a district judge in Dallas County. Leading up to Tuesday's election, he said he hoped people would vote for him based on his record serving in the courts.

Wynne said he believes he has done what his oath requires, which is to apply the rule of law to each case.

"I have authored over 250 opinions on the Supreme Court, and I have authored over 220 opinions on the Arkansas Court of Appeals," he said prior to Tuesday's election. "I have nearly 10 years of experience in the appellate court system. People can look at my opinions and decide what type of Supreme Court justice I am."

Carnahan, 50, has served as the Division 1 district judge in Faulkner and Van Buren counties since Jan. 1, 2021. From Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2020, he served as Division 2 district judge after being appointed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Prior to that, Hutchinson appointed Carnahan as circuit judge for the 20th Judicial Circuit, where he served from Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2018. The 20th Judicial Circuit includes Faulkner, Searcy and Van Buren counties.

Carnahan touted his life experience as a key factor in what separated him from Wynne and Sterling. He said having grown up in southwest Little Rock, he understands how crime and a broken judicial system can impact a city.

Sterling, 53, is a longtime attorney in Little Rock and is running for a seat on the state Supreme Court for the second time after losing in a runoff to Justice Courtney Hudson in 2018.

Sterling also was defeated in the 2014 Republican primary for attorney general. He was hired the next year to lead the legal division of the Department of Human Services under Hutchinson's administration.

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda K. Wood, 53, was unopposed and will receive another term on the highest court in the state.

Wood, from Conway, has served as an associate justice in Position 7 on the Supreme Court since 2015. She was elected in 2014 without an opponent.

State Supreme Court positions have staggered terms, so not all seven justices are up for reelection in the same year.

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