Chatham County’s unexpectedly hot political race, the election for Superior Court judge, ended with Chris Middleton victorious on Tuesday night.
With 86 of 86 precincts reporting, Middleton, a temporary juvenile court judge and longtime public defender, received 60.50% of the vote.
His campaign rival, federal prosecutor Frank Pennington, captured 39.50% of the vote.
Middleton was largely accepted as the favorite for the race due to many of Chatham County’s political mainstream backing him.
But to Middleton, speaking to The Current outside of his election watch party, the result was anything but a given.
“This was truly grassroots. This was community, feet on the ground, feeling the dirt in between your toes, touching every citizen that we could possibly touch, and sharing our story, our vision, our platform,” Middleton said.
The campaigns spent over $130,000 in total for polling, consultants, voter outreach and campaign signs, amounts not typical for Superior Court judge races. Both men are prominent Savannahians and their candidacies split the city and county’s political establishments.
As the results became clear late Tuesday, Pennington thanked gathered supporters and campaign staff at a midtown Savannah event.
“Thanks for everything over the course of the last nine months. (We) worked our tails off,” Pennington said, “Here we are. So thanks again. I really appreciate and love everybody.”
For Middleton, the campaign involved a lot of sleepless nights and promises to voters he now plans to keep.
“I feel like I just won the Super Bowl,” Middleton said, “But honestly man, I’m ready to get to work. If I could be sworn in tomorrow and start work tomorrow then I would definitely do that.”
