Attorney Matt Bailey jumped out to an early lead as Tuesday’s primary results rolled in, and that lead proved insurmountable for challenger Lora Reed Williams.

In one of the more hotly contested local races, the two Republican candidates duked it out for the position of Decatur Superior Court Judge.

“We worked hard, and I enjoyed the campaign,” Bailey said before the results came in. “Whatever happens, we won’t look ahead of ourselves.”

Bailey added that if he did win, his next campaign would see himself and his team working just as hard and trying to do everything right.

While optimistic about his chances before he knew he had won, Bailey claimed he wanted to wait for the results before he and his team contemplated their next move.

With a final tally of 1,805 votes for Matt Bailey and 1,276 for Lora Reed Williams, Bailey came away with 58.58 percent of the vote, enough to seal the deal for him to make his run for the Superior Court Judge in the fall. Bailey may remain unchallenged in the general election if no Democrat is put on the ballot.

“I haven’t looked past today,” Bailey explained. “We were focused on getting this win before we thought about anything else.”

That strategy paid off, as Bailey left the courthouse with a victory in the primary.

“It was a fair contest, we worked really hard, and there were alot of people that helped us out,” he continued. “I would just like to thank them.”

Bailey added that his next step would be to start planning for the fall election.

With the final results in, Williams had a strong showing outside of the Greensburg city limits, but Bailey proved unbeatable in the city. For instance, the city of Westport along with the southern portion of Sand Creek Township favored Williams, while most precincts in the city favored Bailey.

Williams was saddened by her loss, but vowed to continue her public service.

“I’m disappointed, but very proud of our team,” she stated. “I thank them for all of their hard work.”

With all of the strain and stress the campaign has put on her, Williams knew that after the campaign, she had duties and obligations to fill.

“I’m going to make up the lost time with my family,” Williams said. “And I’m going to take it one day at a time.”