LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A bitter and expensive fight for an Arkansas Supreme Court seat that drew more than $1 million in outside spending will drag on for another six months.

Justice Courtney Goodson and David Sterling, the chief counsel for the state Department of Human Services, advanced to a runoff in the November election for the state's highest court in Tuesday's non-partisan judicial election. The two were the top candidates in a three-person race for Goodson's seat, with Appeals Court Judge Kenneth Hixson finishing third.

Goodson had been targeted by a flurry of attack ads and mailers from the Judicial Crisis Network, and a judge ordered some stations to stop running the spots. Another group, the Republican State Leadership Committee, had been running ads in support of Sterling's bid.