Voters ruled Tuesday that nearly five dozen Utah judges will get to keep their jobs — including Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Jill Pohlman, who found herself under fire from conservative Republicans in recent weeks.

Close to 80% of Utahns voted to retain Pohlman for 10 more years, according to unofficial early returns. Fifty-five other judges also won their retention elections with just one, Weber County Justice Court Trent Nelson, in jeopardy of losing his spot, trailing 55% to 45%.

The normally drama-free judicial retention elections were spiced up this year as Republican frustration with the state’s judiciary over a series of court decisions against the GOP resulted in sharp criticism and significant changes to the courts, including expanding the Utah Supreme Court from five justices to seven, the first expansion in more than a century.

Pohlman, in particular, found herself on the hot seat after the high court blocked the Republican-dominated Legislature’s attempt to repeal a ballot initiative banning gerrymandering, resulting in the lower court choosing a map that could cost the GOP a cherished U.S. House seat.

Rep. Burgess Owens, a Republican who retired rather than try to win reelection in the newly drawn Democratic-leaning district, took to social media to urge voters to throw Pohlman off the bench.

“Tell your friends and family, vote NO on Jill Pohlman,” Owens posted on X.

Likewise, the Utah Eagle Forum campaigned against Pohlman’s retention after the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court’s decision blocking a near-total ban on abortion in the state. The Eagle Forum told its supporters that, as a result of the injunction, 16,000 abortions that could have been prevented had taken place.

Arguments on the law were scheduled to be heard in April but were delayed after the Legislature created a new three-judge panel to hear challenges to state laws. The creation of the new panel of judges was challenged and was argued last month before the expanded Supreme Court, which has yet to rule.

Pohlman is the only justice up for retention this year after Justice Diana Hagen resigned from the court amid a Republican-led investigation into whether she had an improper relationship with an attorney in the gerrymandering case.

The Judicial Conduct Commission conducted a preliminary investigation and deemed the allegations “misleading” and dismissed the complaint. But Republican leaders launched their own inquiry, and Hagen resigned, saying she would rather step down than subject her family and friends to the public spectacle.

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which evaluates judges’ performance and recommends whether they should be retained, supported the retention of 56 of the 57 judges on the ballot statewide.

Nelson was the only judge not recommended for retention.

Two judges have lost their retention elections since the system was implemented in 1985.

Note to readers • This is a developing story.