There’s no guarantee that Pike County will have a judge come 2011.

At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Clif Hastings announced he would be calling his opponent Shannon Clark to congratulate her for winning the Republican nomination for the Place 2 Circuit 12 judge seat.

If Democratic candidate Joel Williams can’t pull off the victory in November, Circuit 12 may be without a judge from Pike County.

Still, Hastings was able to see the positive side of his campaign.

“I’m very humbled,” he said.

“People told me that if you win your home town by 60-65 percent you’re doing amazing, and I won by 70 percent.”

But that wasn’t enough to win the race.

Clark carried Coffee County with more than 6,000 of the approximately 8,200 votes counted there, and it was enough to win the primary by well over 2,000 votes.

“I am absolutely humbled by the outpouring of support,” Clark said.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be the Republican nomination. I want to thank everybody who came out to vote.”

Back in Troy, Hastings told a group of supporters at the Cervera, Ralph & Reeves Law Firm that he was sorry the gathering couldn’t be a victory party.

One staff member said it was a victory of sorts since Hastings would still be working in the office.

Hastings said he will continue to practice law and serve the community in that capacity. Clark said celebrations will be short-lived.

“We’ve got to get back to work,” she said. “We’ve got a lot to do between now and November.”