Republican utility regulator James Brown has conceded a race for the Montana Supreme Court to incumbent justice Ingrid Gustafson.
According to election results from the Associated Press, Gustafson held a nearly 10 percentage point lead early Wednesday morning. The AP has not yet called the race.
In his concession statement, Brown congratulated Gustafson on her election and told supporters to “ we can’t give up on our shared goal to restore accountability in our judicial branch and bring balance to the Montana Supreme Court”
The highly politicized race became the most expensive in Montana history for the state Supreme Court.
Brown’s campaign received support from top GOP officials, the National Republican Leadership Judicial Fairness Initiative and the state’s business community.
Gustafson’s re-election campaign was backed by Democrats, former Republican Governor Marc Racicot, the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and Planned Parenthood PAC.
Gustafson was initially appointed to the high court in 2017 by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. Before that, former Republican Gov. Judy Martz tapped Gustafson to become district court judge in Yellowstone County.