JACKSON (AP) — A Jackson lawyer has won a position on Mississippi’s Court of Appeals in a runoff, after a near-victory in the Nov. 6 election.

David McCarty beat fellow Jackson lawyer and Hinds County Circuit Judge Jeff Weill Tuesday in the court’s 4th District. That includes 15 counties from parts of Jackson southwest to Natchez and east to Laurel.

The win comes after McCarty won 49 percent of the vote in a three-way race on Nov. 6. He gets an eight-year term on the 10-member court, replacing Chief Judge Joe Lee, who is retiring.

McCarty emphasized his experience as an appellate lawyer and raised more money than Weill. Judicial races in Mississippi are nonpartisan but Weill was endorsed by the state Republican Party while McCarty had been endorsed by some Democrats.