Published: November 05, 2008 04:44 pm      

Hancock keeps seat as Floyd County judge

Incumbent wins by 18 percent

By the numbers

Superior Court No. 2

Glenn Hancock-D 20,597 (58.98%)

Chris Lane-R 14,326 (41.02%)



Floyd County Court Judge Glenn Hancock easily won re-election and will retain his seat as the court becomes Superior Court No. 2.

Republican Chris Lane, 36, who is a deputy prosecutor in Floyd County, challenged Hancock, 55, the Democratic incumbent.

Hancock received 20,597 votes, or 59 percent. Lane received 14,326 votes, or 41 percent.

Hancock said he was surprised by his wide margin of victory.

“You don’t win that easily without a lot of help from a lot of people,” Hancock said, thanking his siblings for helping campaign for him.

He said precinct results showed that people who live near him, in the Charlestown Road area, came out in large numbers to vote for him.

“I just was extremely proud that people who have been my neighbors voted for me, people who know me, who go to the same grocery store as me,” he said.

Hancock did not expect any major changes in how he runs the court.

“I’m going to do my job like I’ve done the last five years,” Hancock said.

The county court will become a Superior Court the beginning of next year. This means Hancock will have the authority to hear class C felony and higher cases but only if the jury box is expanded. Hancock said he will meet with the other judges to decide how to divide up the caseload.

He anticipates more civil cases will be filed in his court because of his background in practicing civil law as an attorney.

Lane had run a campaign proposing changes which he believed would make cases move through the courts more quickly. Lane said he hated losing but would find other ways to serve the community.

“I ran for, and I’ve served in the community,” Lane said. “I really do love this community.”

For now, he will continue to work in the prosecutor’s office.

“You never rule those things out,” Lane said when asked about running for a judge seat again. “You’ve just got to be looking out for other opportunities to serve whether it’s an elected position or something else.”