Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier appears to have survived an attempt to unseat him by a group of attorneys and law firms.
Karmeier finished less than 1 percentage point above the 60 percent he needed for retention with more than 99 percent of Tuesday's votes counted. Several counties still were counting absentee and provisional ballots.
Karmeier campaign chief Ron Deedrick says in a statement that Karmeier believes he has won. He says the campaign is ``cautiously optimistic that the numbers may continue to edge up'' in Karmeier's favor.
An anti-Karmeier campaign collected more than $1 million for television commercials, automated calls and mailings. They accused the justice of being partial to business. The Nashville, Illinois native denied it.
The anti-Karmeier effort's chairman did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday.