Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods appears to have been retained by voters even though a judicial commission said she did not meet performance standards.
With about one-third of the precincts reporting, Woods was holding a 59 percent approval rating.
Voters said the other nine Superior Court judges can keep their jobs, but gave them a much stronger rating, scoring between 73 and 80 percent.
Woods, who sits on the Juvenile Court bench, was the only judge on the county ballot to receive a negative recommendation by the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review. The commission decided Woods failed to meet the performance standards by a 22-7 vote.
Judges, who are appointed by the governor, face a public retention vote every four years.
The other Superior Court judges retained were:Jeffrey Bergin, Christopher Browning, Javier Chon-Lopez, Charles Harrington, Danelle Liwski, James Marner, Richard Nichols, Kathleen Quigley and K.C. Stanford.
In the justice of the peace Precinct 1 race, Adam Watters, a Republican, was slightly ahead of Robin Auld, a Democrat, by 51 to 48 percent.
In the JP Precinct 8 race, Susan Bacal, a Democrat, was easily leading June Pitts, a Green Party candidate.
Arizona Supreme Court Judges Scott Bales and Robert Brutinel were being retained by voters statewide. Judge Garye Vasquez, of the Arizona Court of Appeals Division II, was also being retained.
