Palm Beach County court judge candidate Lourdes Casanova received the majority of votes in her primary race on Aug. 20, just weeks after a Christian organization rescinded its “highly qualified” rating from her.

The organization, Christian Family Coalition, said Casanova’s decision to accept an endorsement from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, which is an LGBTQ civil rights group, went against its fundamental beliefs.

Despite the noise, Casanova pulled through with just shy of 67,000 votes. Though she received the most votes, it was only 37.9% of the total 176,690 tally.

Since the county judge race is non-partisan, a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote. None of the candidates met that threshold on Aug. 20, meaning Casanova will face off against second-place opponent Jean Middleton (33.9%) in a runoff election in November.

Casanova’s team did not return OutSFL’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Casanova was endorsed by the Sun Sentinel, local police, firefighters and community advocates, according to her website.

Anthony Verdugo, founder of the Christian Family Coalition, told the Sun Sentinel that “candidates who seek the endorsement of LGBTQ activist organizations that work to undermine family values, parental rights and children’s safety do not receive CFC Florida’s highly qualified rating.”

Rand Hoch, founder of the PBCHRC and a former judge, previously told OutSFL that the CFC should have “done their homework before issuing a scurrilous statement about those of us who have been working in electoral politics in Palm Beach County for decades.”

PBCHRC’s mission involves “ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression,” its website reads.

CFC’s website has been suspended since OutSFL initially reported on the situation.

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