At an October candidate forum hosted by the Tallahassee Democrat, WFSU and the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, Riggans said she had been a public servant for most of her adult life.

She devoted her campaign to discussions about what the county is doing right and wrong and how best to restore public confidence in the justice system. “People want to be heard,” she said. “And that’s why I’m here.”

The candidates were pushed to runoff after being the top two vote-getters in the August primary election in the race for the open judge seat now held by Judge Augustus Aikens Jr., who faces mandatory retirement under Florida law. (The retirement age for judges was changed by voters in 2018 from 70 to 75.)

In the primary, Churchill came in first with 43.5 percent, Riggans claimed nearly 31 percent, and Cydnee Brown — a third candidate eliminated in the first wave of voting — got nearly 26 percent, according to the website of the Florida Division of Elections.