Race for Tri-Cities judge is still close but one candidate is pulling ahead

A gap between candidates has started to widen in the race to replace an embattled former Tri-Cities judge.

Since election night only a handful of votes have divided Benton County Court Commissioner Bronson Brown and Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant.

However, Brown pulled ahead by 540 votes by Friday after the Benton and Franklin county clerk’s offices released another round of votes. Brown now has 43,076 votes, or 50.11%, compared to Sant’s 42,536 votes or 49.49%

The remaining ballots were cast for write-in candidates.

Prior to this the candidates have been exchanging narrow leads, with Brown ahead on Tuesday and Sant leading on Wednesday.

Franklin County estimates it has about 2,000 ballots left to count where Sant is leading and Benton County has 20,000 remaining, where Brown leads.

Brown is feeling better after the latest round of results, he told the Tri-City Herald. With the current trends, he believes they can continue to keep the lead and maybe widen the gap.

“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic, but we’re cautiously optimistic,” he said. “With the trend and the ballots left to count, we’re feeling pretty good.”

While the results didn’t move in the way he wanted, Sant told the Herald he will continue to watch as more ballots are counted.

He said the election shows how important it is to vote.

“This is why your vote counts,” he said. “It’s been a good process.”

The two longtime attorneys are looking to fill the spot left by former Judge Sam Swanberg, who resigned from the bench in May ahead of a hearing by the Washington state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The commission ruled he should be barred from holding a position as a judge because of his alleged abuse of his ex-wife and harassment of an ex-girlfriend. The Washington State Supreme Court made it official in a new ruling released Thursday.

The person elected to the nonpartisan position will serve for four years and be paid $228,000 a year.

Campaign for Tri-Cities judge

This was the second attempt for both men to earn a seat on the seven-member panel of Superior Court judges who handle cases in both Benton and Franklin counties.

The two ran in 2020 to replace Judge Bruce Spanner after his retirement, but were both knocked out of a six-person primary race. Judge Dave Petersen ultimately won.

After Brown was defeated, he pursued a position as a Benton County court commissioner and also became a Franklin County judge pro-tem.

“So the last two years, I’m doing the job,” he told the Tri-City Herald Editorial Board last month. “Being on the bench is a little different. As a prosecutor, you’re seeking justice. As a defense attorney, you’re being an advocate for your client. As a judge, you’re being a fair and impartial adjudicator and making sure people’s constitutional rights are safeguarded and the rules are being followed.

In his 21 years as an attorney, he’s served as the general counsel for the Kennewick School District and other government agencies and as a Benton County District Court public defender.

A number of Tri-City legal luminaries lined up to back his campaign, including all the current Superior Court judges, most of the Benton County District Court judges and court commissioners.

Sant has been Franklin County’s elected prosecutor for 14 years and serves in the U.S. Army Reserves judiciary and legal system. He’s also served as a public defender and a deputy prosecutor in his 20 years of practicing law.

His role as a prosecutor has required him to help argue thousands of cases, weigh evidence and determine whether a charge is supported by the law.

This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 5:24 PM.