David Writer will be the Republican nominee for Carroll County Judge in the November general election.

Writer defeated Bud Phillips in the June 21 preferential primary runoff to win the Republican nomination, according to unofficial final results announced by the Carroll County Clerk’s office.

Writer received 1,360 votes (57.26 percent) in the runoff, while Phillips received 1,015 votes (42.74 percent). Writer will run against Democrat James “Rusty” Rusterholz Jr. and independent Kelly Wood in the November general election.

Phillips and Writer advanced to the runoff by finishing first and second, respectively, among three candidates in the May 24 primary. The third candidate was Rodney Ballance Jr.

“I’m just that elated that I came out on top,” Writer said after his runoff victory. “I’m going to take a week of vacation and then get back to it. We’ve still got another one to try to win.”

Writer praised his opponents for seeking the office and for running a “clean” campaign.

“Both of them, I think, did a great job of running their campaigns,” Writer said. “They did. They ran clean. We all did. … That’s a big step to step out in the public’s hands and I really thank them for for running.”