Island County Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill appears to be well on her way to retaining her position on the bench.

In early vote returns Tuesday night, Churchill has 72 percent of the vote over her challenger Craig Platt, a Coupeville defense attorney, in the race for Position 2 in Island County Superior Court.

With 13,556 votes counted in the race, Churchill was ahead with 9,808 votes to Platt’s 3,748.