OLYMPIA, Wash. - State Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers was re-elected in Tuesday's primary and two other justices fighting to keep their seats on the high court held narrow leads.

With about 43 percent of the expected vote reported, Chambers had 58 percent of the vote compared to 42 percent for Jeanette Burrage, a conservative former lawmaker and judge.

Chief Justice Gerry Alexander was leading attorney John Groen 53 percent to 47 percent, and Justice Susan Owens led Republican state Sen. Stephen Johnson 45 percent to 33 percent, with three other candidates trailing in that race.

The three incumbents and three of their six opponents have raised more than $1.4 million, and numerous political action committees have spent about $1.9 million on TV and radio ads, mailings and automated phone calls to influence voters.

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Chief Justice Gerry Alexander

The seats of Alexander and Chambers were being decided in the primary, as the candidate who tops 50 percent in the two-way primaries will advance unopposed to the general ballot Nov. 7.

The Owens race -- which has drawn four challengers -- was expected to result in a runoff between Owens and Stephen Johnson. Also seeking Owens' seat were attorneys Michael Johnson and Richard Smith and administrative review judge Norman Ericson, but none of those three campaigned actively.

Michael Johnson, Smith and Ericson didn't announce they were running until right before the filing deadline in late July. That led to cries of dirty tricks from the campaign of Stephen Johnson and others who said the filings were meant to confuse voters -- who might choose Michael Johnson thinking he's Sen. Johnson. All three insisted they were legitimate candidates.

In an effort to head off any confusion at the polls, the secretary of state's office decided the ballot would note the two Johnsons' occupations to set them apart.

The toughest race was between Alexander and Groen.

The most hard-hitting TV pieces lauded Groen as committed to property rights and tough on criminals while portraying Alexander as old, out of touch and too sympathetic to fellow Justice Bobbe Bridge following her 2003 drunken driving arrest.

A group supporting Burrage ran radio ads attacking Chambers' recent vote to overturn the state's ban on gay marriage. Chambers was in the minority, and the court upheld the ban on a 5-4 ruling, but one ad warned "marriage is under attack in Washington state."

The heavy hitters behind Groen include the powerful Building Industry Association of Washington, which also gave strong support to Justice Jim Johnson, who became the first judicial candidate in state history to raise more than half a million dollars when he was elected in 2004.

Less than $9,000 in independent expenditures were spent on that race, a drop in the bucket compared to the amount being spent by the political action committees this year.

The increase in PAC activity is due in part to a change in the judicial campaign law. While direct donations to campaigns are limited to $1,400 for the primary and $1,400 for the general election, there's no limit to independent spending to support or oppose candidates, so long as it isn't coordinated with the candidate's campaign.