TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- As the Leon County primary election draws near, a local group has taken a closer look at one of the races.
The Tallahassee Bar Association (TBA) has been looking at the candidates for Leon County Judge, evaluating them by a poll it's conducted for more than 20 years.
The TBA sent out ballots to more than 3,500 lawyers, and 475 responded.
The poll looked at each candidate in terms of judicial temperament and judicial ability. In this primary contest, there are just two candidates.
In both categories, J. Layne Smith came out on top over opponent Monique Richardson.
The group says it doesn't endorse either candidate but wanted the public have a better understanding of who's running in this race.
"People come and say, 'What do you think about this judicial race? Who do you have the experience with?'" said TBA president Dick Collins. "We lawyers probably get more asked that type of question, so we felt like this is the best way to give them what the feedback was."
The TBA only conducts the poll for the seat of county judge. The group says it hasn't kept track of whether or not the preferred candidate in their previous polls has turned out to be the winner.
Voting for Leon County Judge and the other offices starts Saturday.
The actual primary is on Tuesday, August 30.
