Stephanie Williams has a sizable lead in the Democratic primary for Nashville’s Fourth Circuit Court judge seat after early vote totals were reported.

The winner of the primary is expected to win the general election in August because no Republicans are running for the seat.

Four candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination. They are Williams, the court’s former special master; incumbent Stan Kweller, who has held the job since 2023; Audrey Anderson, a family law attorney; and Tusca Alexis, a family law mediator.

The Davidson County Fourth Circuit Court is one of Nashville’s two family courts. It handles a high volume of some of Davidson County’s most emotional court cases, including divorces, custody battles, child support and adoptions. Between Nashville’s two family courts in the third and fourth circuits, 1,706 new divorce cases were filed in 2023.

The Fourth Circuit Court was the only judge seat up for grabs this election cycle in Nashville, prompted by the death of former judge Philip Smith in September 2022.

Gov. Bill Lee appointed Kweller to fill the seat until voters could decide. Kweller was sworn in in January 2023.

Circuit court judges serve eight-year terms.

More: 2024 Tennessee Primary Election Results

More: 2024 Davidson County Primary Election Results

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville election results: Williams takes early lead in judge race