Cavanagh Wins Supreme Court Race By Very Thin Margin

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LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Final election results show a Michigan Supreme Court justice lost by less than 1 percentage point.

The difference between Megan Cavanagh and Justice Kurtis Wilder was 54,000 votes. Together they got 3.08 million.

There were six candidates in the race for two Supreme Court seats Tuesday. Cavanagh, a Detroit-area lawyer, finished second, ahead of Wilder. Justice Elizabeth Clement finished first. Results are posted online by the secretary of state.

Cavanagh had joked that she hoped voters wouldn't confuse her with Brett Kavanaugh, the controversial U.S. Supreme Court justice. Name recognition likely helped her: Cavanagh's father was a Michigan Supreme Court justice for decades until 2015. An uncle was a Detroit mayor.

It's the third time since 2008 that voters have declined to elect a sitting justice.