In the push and pull over whether a Republican judge’s request to throw out more than 60,000 votes in his election contest should be considered in state or federal court, a panel of federal judges said Tuesday that the case will stay in state court for now.

In a win for Republicans seeking to overturn the 2024 election results of a race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, a federal appeals court has given the case back to state courts. Democratic inumbent Justice Allison Riggs received 734 votes more than Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin in the November election.