By 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, the final tally was just a formality.

Bob Armstrong knew he had defeated incumbent District Judge Nathaniel Walker comfortably and he stood on a chair to share the moment with his supporters.

Behind him the tally board told the story as precinct after precinct fell in his favor.

Just after Armstrong began to speak, someone walked up and slapped a sign over Armstrong’s name.

It simply said “Winner.” The crowd of Armstrong supporters erupted.

“The first thing I’ve got to do is say praise God,” Armstrong said to another explosion of cheers.

It was a 180-degree turn from six years ago. In 1998, Walker held off Armstrong by 72 votes.

Tuesday, the duo faced each other again in a runoff for the District Judge seat.

This time it wasn’t close.

Armstrong walked away with a comfortable win.

He took 7,809 of the total of 12,451 votes cast.

He won with nearly 63 percent of the vote.

“I was thinking it would be maybe 500 or 600 votes,” Armstrong said. “I thought it would be fairly close but I thought we would win.”

After 18 years of service, Walker will leave office this winter.

Maybe the most amazing part of the night was the overall turnout for the county.

In the June 1 Primary, 13,011 Democratic votes were cast.

Tuesday, the number was only about 600 less.

Walker though, felt like some of the black vote didn’t come out to the polls.

“Black folk just didn’t turnout,” he said, “and some of the black folk supported Mr. Armstrong.”

Armstrong praised voters for crossing racial lines to support him.

“I think this is a huge step. I think it’s bigger than just a judgeship,” Armstrong said. “People told me that a white candidate couldn’t win in Dallas County, the numbers weren’t there and I said that’s a lie.

We saw a lot of racism and we met it head on and it hurts.

There are racists black and white, but for every racist there are three or four great people who don’t want it to be that way anymore.

This is evidence of what I thought.”

Armstrong took the time to thank several members of his campaign team, including several blacks that supported him from the start.

“They opened doors for me in areas of our community that would never have been open to me without them,” Armstrong said. “They took heat from the black community to support me. They stood and took the heat and did what was right and you know what? The time is going to come that we’re going to have to do the same thing.”

After his speech, Armstrong spent about 20 minutes hugging supporters, black and white, young and old.

His family stood back and watched.

“Six years ago we lost by 72 votes and we were crushed,” Armstrong said. “Don’t think I didn’t think twice about that when I decided to run this time. I believe this is something I was supposed to do so we went for it. It’s neat to share it with all of them because they know how hard we worked.”

Walker said the demands of campaigning while carrying the office’s heavy load made it difficult to compete with Armstrong and his legion of supporters.

“I still say I’ve been doing the work of two judges for the last 18 years because that office definitely needs a second district court judge and I just didn’t have the time to get out and campaign.”

Armstrong will reap the fruit of that labor in January of 2005.

There is not a Republican challenger for the seat so only a write-in candidate can oppose him in the general election in November.

Until then, Walker will maintain the docket and Armstrong will continue to practice law while he prepares for the transition.

In the June 1 Primary, Armstrong took the majority of the votes with 6,088.

Walker finished with 4,029 and City Attorney Jimmy Nunn garnered 2,848.

In the end, Nunn’s votes may have made the difference.

“I just felt that Jimmy Nunn’s voters represented people who wanted change,” Armstrong said. “I believe there was enough of those people, who were primarily African-American, for whom race would not be the primary issue.”

Both men continued to maintain the level of class they showed throughout the campaign.

Armstrong was gracious in victory while Walker was in good spirits in defeat.

“I would want to congratulate them on a race well run, I wish him the best,” Armstrong said. “I know from six years ago how bad it hurts when you lose.

I have nothing but best wishes for him and his supporters.”

“I wish Mr. Armstrong well,” Walker said.

Surrounded by his supporters, Walker remained upbeat.

“It’s a turning point in my life and it’s a positive turning point in my life,” he said. “I look forward to January of 2005 when I don’t have to deal with that demanding case load.

I’m looking for a nice exotic place like Brazil or Southern Africa or someplace like that where I can just relax for awhile.”