State Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias stopped by Gainesville on Friday morning in his campaign around the state for the Nov. 30 runoff.

"A runoff is a short process in a big state, and running for judge is tricky because it's hard to get people interested," Nahmias said to the more than 100 lawyers, law enforcement officials and politicians who came to the Northeast Georgia History Center. "It's an important race but hard to understand because most people never step into the Supreme Court, not even most lawyers. Judges decide the final word on every state law that affects everyone in the state."

Nahmias was appointed to the bench last year by Gov. Sonny Perdue, but he didn't get enough votes to win the race on Election Day.

He will face Lawrenceville family law attorney Tamela Adkins, who didn't campaign or accept contributions. Nahmias received 48 percent of the vote, with Adkins at 35 percent and Atlanta lawyer Matt Wilson, who launched an aggressive campaign against Nahmias, a distant third with 16 percent.

Nahmias said voter outreach is the biggest focus when most counties only have runoffs for two statewide races, Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

"They set the policy, but if the judges don't enforce the law as written, you're not getting the kind of government you wanted," he said.

"The legislation won't have the effect it's supposed to have."

With seven justices on the court and a four-person majority, each seat matters.

"If you get a couple of people wrong, it could screw up your lives," he said. "The election process should focus on qualifications."

Adkins said Friday that she didn't have time to campaign earlier "but now I'm actively campaigning and have shut down my practice as I look toward Nov. 30."

She said she is working to get voters to the polls with the same message she used two years ago in the race for Court of Appeals.

"I touched a lot of people, and my message is that I want to be on the Supreme Court because I've tried thousands of cases with ordinary Georgians in Georgia courtrooms, representing family, children and business owners for 18 years," she said. "I think I'm well-qualified to sit on the bench with that trial experience."

Politicians such as former Sen. Lee Hawkins, Rep. Doug Collins and County Commissioner-elect Craig Lutz came out to the Gainesville event to support Nahmias.

"In the three branches of government, the judicial branch is at times silent and most people don't know what it does. It's the real check on the legislative side," Lutz said. "It's important to have a qualified person who understands his restrictions of office so he doesn't overstep the bounds of what's constitutionally appropriate, and I think we have an opportunity to have someone who demonstrates that control and good judgement."

Gainesville Police Chief Brian Kelly and several deputies from the Hall County Sheriff's Office represented the law enforcement support.

"I've known David for years when he was a federal prosecutor and we had a large grow house at the south end of the county," Sheriff Steve Cronic said.

"He's a hard-nosed professional and level-headed and fair as a judge. In my book, he's one of the best we've ever had, and we need to see him continue."

For the next few weeks, Nahmias will focus on cities that have local elections.

"Athens and Columbus have a runoff for mayor, and the turnout there will likely be higher around 20 percent, rather than 5 percent," he said. "We're really trying to go everywhere we can."

Nahmias will also focus on e-mail and word-of-mouth to get people to the polls.

"It's all about getting people to vote just one more time, which is hard when you have two nonpartisan statewide races with judges you don't see in the community," he said. "There's not enough money in these elections to get the word out in the way you do for the top of the ballot."