Alexander leads hotly contested Supreme Court race over Groen

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander on Tuesday was fending off a fierce challenge from John Groen, a conservative property-rights attorney, in what was the most expensive and divisive court race in state history.

With about half of the expected vote tallied, Alexander held a modest lead over Groen. Tens of thousands of ballots from across the state had yet to be counted and neither side was calling the race.

Alexander faced a barrage of attack ads funded largely by the building industry, but his campaign was bolstered by a counterattack against Groen led by labor unions, trial lawyers and other liberal groups.

Meanwhile, incumbent Justice Tom Chambers was cruising to victory over Jeanette Burrage, a former King County Superior Court judge.

In other primary highlights, Jamie Pedersen and Jim Street were leading four other Democrats in the race to replace state Rep. Ed Murray in Seattle's 43rd Legislative District.

And the vote in the U.S. Senate race proved to be just a formality, setting up what promises to be a raucous showdown between incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell and Republican challenger Mike McGavick.

A third Supreme Court race was expected to remain undecided after Tuesday's vote. Justice Susan Owens and Republican state Sen. Steve Johnson were leading the other three candidates in that race. But it appeared neither would get 50 percent of the votes and would face off in November.

In court races, a candidate who wins more than 50 percent in the primary is the de-facto winner because he or she gets to appear alone on the general-election ballot.

Things did not look promising for Groen late Tuesday. The bulk of the outstanding ballots were in King County — where Alexander held a convincing leadin early returns.

"I would rather we had a little different numbers, no doubt," Groen said shortly before midnight.

Alexander had already headed home from an election-night party in Olympia.

"He's not declaring victory, but he's resting much easier," said Parks Weaver, Alexander's campaign treasurer.

Mirroring a nationwide trend, court races here have become a major campaign battleground for big-money special-interest groups.

As of Tuesday, the candidates and their backers had poured more than $3.6 million into the races. More than two-thirds of that went into the race between Groen and Alexander.

Groen raised nearly $440,000 in campaign donations, the second-highest total ever for a Supreme Court candidate. Alexander had raised nearly $260,000.

But the bulk of the spending came from groups waging independent campaigns.

The powerful building industry — which in recent years has made Supreme Court races a top priority — and other conservative groups spent more than $1.7 million promoting Groen and Johnson, and attacking Alexander.

Alexander and the other incumbents were backed by a new political action committee — Citizens to Uphold the Constitution — funded largely by labor unions, trial lawyers and tribes. The group spent nearly $500,000 by Tuesday.

The Groen-Alexander race was not only the most expensive ever. Court observers say it was also the nastiest.

"In terms of the personal nastiness ... I've never seen the likes of this in a judicial race," said former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge.

Talmadge is supporting all three of the incumbents. But he said he has seen "utterly offensive" attack ads from interest groups on all sides.

He said court candidates should denounce the independent campaigns and say, "Please don't do this on my behalf."

The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) and its allies were instrumental two years ago in electing Jim Johnson to the court, another conservative property-rights advocate.

In recent weeks, the BIAW aired several television and radio ads attacking Alexander. One reminded voters that Alexander expressed support for a fellow justice after she was arrested for drunken driving. Another portrayed Alexander, who is 70, as too old for the job.

The building industry also bombarded voters with mailers criticizing Alexander for his role in rulings that supported the government's right to seize private property.

The new labor-backed PAC responded with ads and mailers accusing the BIAW of trying to stack the court with "far-right extremists."

The group aired one ad that claimed Alexander's opponents "want to gut protections for our clean air and water, they oppose stem-cell research and women's right to choose."

Both sides are expected to wage a similar battle over the remaining undecided race.

Sen. Johnson, who lives in Kent and has spent 12 years in the Legislature, is backed by the building industry. Owens is supported by the unions, trial lawyers and their allies.

Ralph Thomas: 360-943-9882 or rthomas@seattletimes.com