After a week of ballot tallying, Washington’s closest race for state Supreme Court has a winner. King County Superior Court Judge Sean O’Donnell claimed victory Wednesday morning over appeals court Judge Ian Birk. He leads by 39,000 votes, or 1.4%, with fewer than 100,000 ballots left to count statewide.

Partisan battle in judicial race

O’Donnell was referring to a decision from the state’s Public Disclosure Commission days before the election to not enforce limits on how much money political committees could accept. After the move, Service Employees International Union 775 contributed $250,000 to the progressive-backed Beware the Attack on Our Courts political action committee. The money went toward boosting Birk and undermining O’Donnell, as part of a flurry of last-minute spending.

O’Donnell said in an interview he found it “shocking” that the decision was made while voting was ongoing.

In crowded campaign, fewer Washington Supreme Court candidates seek scrutiny from their peers. The five Supreme Court races on this year’s ballot presented a proxy battle between Republicans and Democrats without any other statewide elected officials on the ballot.

Five candidates, including Birk and two appointees of Gov. Bob Ferguson, had support from Democratic groups, while their five opponents, including O’Donnell, were supported by the state GOP.

Birk’s campaign claimed O’Donnell was a closet Republican running on a “partisan agenda.” It was a rare example of typically sleepy races turning overtly partisan.

Dozens of judges came to O’Donnell’s defense, calling out Birk for what they called “false partisan attacks.” O’Donnell stressed that he had support from both sides of the political spectrum.

The four other Democrat-allied candidates sailed to victory by double-digit margins. Ferguson’s appointees, Justices Colleen Melody and Theo Angelis, will retain their positions on the court. Chief Justice Debra Stephens won another term easily, and King County Superior Court Judge Jaime Hawk, who was previously an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, will join the high court.