Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore rode his horse to the polls this morning and then a wave of voter support that had him on the cusp of winning the Republican nomination for his old job.

[Update: Roy Moore wins GOP primary in bid to return as Alabama's chief justice]

With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, Moore was hanging on to slightly more than 50 percent of the vote, which would allow him to claim a victory against incumbent Chuck Malone and Mobile County Presiding Circuit Judge Charles Graddick without a runoff.

If Moore slips below the magical 50 percent mark, he would face either Graddick or Moore on April 24. Graddick held a slight lead at press time.

“I’m very happy at what we thought was going to happen. The people support me. So many tried to disparage me,” Moore said. “My opponents are very good men, qualified judges. I’ve never made any disparaging remarks.”

In the other contested Supreme Court primary, Court of Civil Appeals Judge Tommy Bryan was took about 2-thirds of the vote against poorly financed opponent, Circuit Judge Debra Jones of Anniston.

But the big story was Moore, 65, who was winning despite getting badly outspent by his 2 opponents. “That should tell you something,” he said, giving credit to God.

Malone said he believes Moore had an advantage since he could devote his full attention to campaigning while the other candidates have full-time jobs.

“At this point, we’re not conceding anything,” Malone said. “I knew (Moore) would do well. I didn’t expect it would be at this level. He’s run 5 times statewide. I know name recognition has a lot to do with it.”

Graddick said the vote is close enough that it could change when the final results are in.

“If it does, we’re prepared to hit the ground running, and if it doesn’t, I’ll call Judge Moore and congratulate him,” he said.

The chief justice campaign split the state’s business community, with some powerful political action committees supporting Malone and others backing Graddick. Overall, however, campaign spending was markedly below the pace set by 2 Republican candidates for the position 6 years ago.

Moore was hoping to regain a position he lost in 2003 when a state panel expelled him from office for failing to comply with a federal court order to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments that he had placed in the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. Moore argued — and continues to maintain — that he had a right to acknowledge God and that following the order would have been a violation of his oath to the Constitution.

In an attempt to sidestep any lingering controversy, Moore promised repeatedly throughout this campaign that he would not try to bring the monument back if elected.

Instead, Moore sought to make the race about his experience running the court system during a financial crisis. He depicted himself as a steady hand who had previously guided the judiciary through difficult budget cuts.

He and Graddick both chided Malone over what they regarded as bloated personnel and salaries at the judiciary's central offices, the Administrative Office of Courts. Statistics provided by the AOC, however, showed that staffing and payroll, after spiking a few years ago, had declined to roughly the levels that existed when Moore was in office.

Graddick promised to cut the administrative staff but said that he needed to take office before he could offer specifics. He said that county courthouses have shouldered too much of the burden of declining revenue for the judiciary.

Graddick campaigned on his years of experience in public service. Before becoming judge, he served as Mobile County district attorney and Alabama attorney general. In 1986, he ran for governor as a Democrat and won a runoff against Bill Baxley only to see party officials invalidate the results because of crossover voting by Republicans.

Baxley got the nomination, but bitterness over the primary dispute helped Guy Hunt become the first Republican governor in modern Alabama history.

Malone was the presiding circuit judge in Tuscaloosa County before Gov. Robert Bentley tapped him as his chief of staff. Bentley then appointed Malone as chief justice after Democrat Sue Bell Cobb resigned her post.

Malone argued that he was the only candidate who had a detailed plan to save money in the court system and persuade lawmakers to increase support for the third branch of government.

The chief justice serves a 6-year term; the salary ranges from $161,002 to $201,253, depending on experience.

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Updated at 11:35 p.m. to include updated vote totals and comments from Chief Justice Chuck Malone and Circuit Judge Charles Graddick.