Philly judges win Democratic primaries for statewide courts

Two Philadelphia judges have been picked by Democratic voters as the party’s nominees to run for open seats on two different statewide appellate courts in November.

Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Timika Lane won a three-way primary contest Tuesday for a Superior Court seat, beating two lawyers in private practice from the Pittsburgh area.

The Superior Court handles criminal and civil appeals from county courts.

Some ballots are still trickling in, but Friday afternoon, Lane led with 48% of the vote. A little over 99% of precincts had reported in-person votes, and 91% of mail ballots had been counted.

Republican Megan Sullivan ran unopposed for her party’s Superior Court nomination.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lori Dumas won a nomination in a four-way primary contest for two open seats on the Commonwealth Court. The court handles lawsuits and appeals involving state and governmental agencies.

Dumas had 29% of the vote.

The competition between Common Pleas Court Judge David Lee Spurgeon and lawyer Amanda Green-Hawkins of Allegheny County for the other nomination remains razor-thin and still hadn’t been called Friday. Spurgeon led slightly, with 26.7% of the vote to Hawkins’ 25.8%.

Republicans Drew Crompton and Stacy Wallace were uncontested for the court on their side of the ballot.

On Tuesday night, Kevin Brobson, a Commonwealth Court judge from Dauphin County, won the Republican nomination in a three-way primary contest for an open seat on the state Supreme Court.

Democrat Maria McLaughlin, a Superior Court judge, ran uncontested for her party’s nomination. The pair will square off in the fall. Democrats could gain an even larger advantage on the court. Republicans could, at best, hold their 2-5 disadvantage.