It cost Lewis Stoughton about $9.75 a vote to capture both nominations in the May primary and all but lock up a new job as district judge in Chicora first thing next year.

Scott Roskovski did not get as much bang for the buck. He spent around $12.28 per vote and came in second to Stoughton in the eight-candidate field.

Candidates' spending habits are included in the latest campaign expense reports filed Thursday at the Butler County Elections Bureau.

The reports showed candidates seeking to succeed retiring District Judge Joseph O'Donnell in Chicora combined to spend nearly $75,000 during the primary campaign.

The committee for Stoughton of Donegal Township, owner and operator of Stoughton Excavating and Sanitation, led the way with $26,583 in listed expenditures over the primary.

Stoughton easily captured both the Republican and Democratic nominations. District judge candidates can cross-file in the primary.

District judges, elected to six-year terms, set bail and issue arrest and search warrants. They preside over arraignments and preliminary hearings in all matters of crime, and render verdicts in cases of up to $8,000 in civil actions.

The minor court judges this year earn a salary of $64,669.

Stoughton, like most of the other district judge candidates, largely self-financed his campaign. The money was primarily used for signs, postage, media advertisement, campaign rally supplies and other materials.

Stoughton and his wife, Stacy, earlier loaned the candidate's campaign committee $14,250, his report showed.

According to the latest filing for the reporting period of May 3 to June 6, Stoughton spent $6,804.

The committee for Roskovski of Center Township, a Butler County detective, spent $4,889 over the same period. In all, Roskovski's committee spent $17,244 during the primary, his reports showed.

The total spending by the committees of the other candidates for this district judge post during the primary are:

- Linda Heasley Cranmer of Summit Township, $9,630.

- Dale Cornetti of Cherry Township, $8,387.

- Terry Sweeney of Parker Township, $4,296.

- David Craig of Donegal Township, $4,124.

- Tom Donaldson of Center Township, $2,896.

- Mark Lauer of Center Township, $1,494.

The reports revealed Lauer, director of public services in Center Township, got the most out of his campaign expenditures. He finished third in voting on each ticket and spent about $1.44 a vote.

Meanwhile, in the district judge race in Butler Township, three candidates during the primary combined to spend $45,058.

The committees for incumbent Kevin O'Donnell and challenger Ronald Pate spent $9,813 and $8,265, respectively, over the final two weeks of the primary, their latest reports showed.

Overall, O'Donnell spent $24,086 and Pate spent $17,361. But the race, unlike in Chicora and another district judge race in Cranberry Township, is far from decided.

O'Donnell, seeking a second term, captured the Democratic nomination while Pate, a Butler police lieutenant, won the Republican nomination.

The two will square off in the fall.

Butler attorney Eric Levin finished a distant third on each ballot in the three-candidate race. He spent $3,611 on his primary campaign.

O'Donnell's latest report revealed that numerous individuals offered small donations of $50 or less to boost his campaign.

Pate, meanwhile, was aided by a $5,000 contribution from the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association of Camp Hill, his report showed.

In the county's third contested district judge race, the committee for incumbent Kelley Streib of Cranberry Township spent $8,315 over the primary.

Streib handily won both the Republican and Democratic nominations and is all but certain to win a third term.

Streib's committee spent $2,814 during the latest reporting period, according to her recent filing.

Cranberry Township police Sgt. Dave Kovach outspent Streib in his primary challenge. Kovach's committee spent $11,786 in all on the campaign.

Most of Kovach's spending occurred prior to May 2. His recent report showed that during the final two weeks of the campaign, he spent just $905.