Judge Ellington re-elected to Court of Appeals

In one of the few races actually decided in Tuesday's primary, Judge Anne Ellington was re-elected to the Washington Court of Appeals.

Tuesday night's count had Ellington with an overwhelming lead over her challenger, Seattle attorney Robert Kelly.

Although the campaign was one of the most low-key in this election, the office itself is a significant judicial position that often handles high-profile cases. Last month, Ellington ruled that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco had violated a ban on using cartoon imagery to sell cigarettes. The ban had been imposed as part of the 1998 settlement in which tobacco companies agreed to stop marketing to young people.

She also made news a year ago when she overturned part of King County's Critical Areas Ordinances as an illegal tax on development.

She was appointed to the state's second-highest court in 1995, elected in 1995 and re-elected in 1997 and 2003.

She was endorsed by most civic and legal groups.