A controversial San Diego Superior Court judge has been defeated in his effort to seek a second term on the bench.

Judge Gary Kreep received just 41 percent of the vote as of late Thursday. His challenger, deputy district attorney Matt Brower, has 59 percent. There are 465,000 ballots that still need to be tallied, the Registrar of Voters Office said.

Kreep has in the past made headlines for his stridently anti-abortion and “birther” views. The San Diego County Bar Association recently rated Kreep as “lacking qualifications” for a judgeship.

Kreep was also censured last year by the state Commission on Judicial Performance, which reported that he committed 29 acts of misconduct and improper action from 2012 to 2015.

Brower, who is also a Judge Advocate General in the Marine Corps Reserve, was rated “qualified” by the local Bar Association.

Brower will now replace Kreep in January.

“I thank the voters so much for standing by their values and selecting somebody who is a very human person, and who is also dedicated to trying to uphold their values, restore ethics, treat people professionally, and restore dignity (to the bench),” Brower told NBC 7 on election night.

Photo Credit: NBC7
Source: NBC San Diego