LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The winner of the race for chief justice of the Arkansas state Supreme Court will not change his conservative majority and has not resorted to the heavy spending of Republican groups that have been targeted in previous campaigns . But the result will still make history.

Justices Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood are running in this year's nonpartisan runoff election to replace outgoing Chief Justice Dan Kemp. Baker and Wood were them the two first place winners in a four-person race for the spot in March, but neither achieved the majority needed to win the race outright.

The Arkansas court is technically nonpartisan, but Republican-backed justices hold a 4-3 majority on the court. That majority will expand to 5-2 regardless of who wins the race GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders The plan is to fill two vacancies on the pitch next year.

Baker or Wood will be the first woman elected as the state's chief justice. Betty Dickey was appointed presiding judge of the court in 2003.

Wood, who was first elected to the court in 2014 and re-elected in 2022, is supported by Republicans including Sanders and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton. The Arkansas Republican Party State Committee also endorsed her candidacy.

However, Wood said she believes her experience in court shows that she is an independent voice and does not make decisions in accordance with either party.

“I believe I have made decisions consistent with the law, but not necessarily that one party or the other would agree with them,” Wood told The Associated Press.

Baker, who has served on the court since 2011, did not respond to multiple messages from the AP requesting an interview. Baker won re-election in 2022, defeating a former Republican lawmaker who described himself as a constitutional conservative.

In interviews, Baker said she proved to be impartial.

“I think my opponent has proven that she's not,” she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette when asked about Sanders' political action committee, which is supporting Wood's campaign.

Arkansas' judicial elections have been targeted in recent years by conservative groups that have poured big money into efforts to push the court further to the right. However, those groups have not identified Arkansas as a target this year, instead focusing on high-profile races in battleground states like Ohio and Michigan.

The two candidates recently separated in a legal dispute over one Abortion rights measure that would have a state ban that went into effect when Roe v. Wade was lifted, moved back.

Wood wrote the court's 4-3 majority opinion upholding the state's decision to reject petitions filed in favor of the proposal. The court concluded that the sponsors of the measure had not complied with the formalities applicable to paid signature collectors.

In a bitter dissent, Baker asked, “Why are respondents and the majority determined to withhold this special vote from the people?”

Asked what the opinions highlighted about the difference between the justices, Wood said: “I think it's clear who seems more judicially reserved than an opinion that tries to influence public emotions.”

Baker has praised her experience as a judge and previously cited improving bar licensing as an area she would like to focus on if elected.

Wood has said she would like to push for changes to the court system to make it more accessible, including text notifications of hearings and alternative options for court attendance, including night courts and virtual courts.

“There are a lot of finite, point-in-time things I specifically want to do, but the theme makes it much more transparent and citizen-friendly,” Wood said.

Whoever loses the race will remain in the seat, but the election will give Sanders a second appointment next year. Judge Courtney Hudson was elected to a position on her court in March that is different than her own, creating a vacancy. Hudson will replace Cody Hiland, whom Sanders appointed to the bench last year.